Download.com Features Linux Distro

Morpheous writes "C|Net Download.Com is showcasing Armed Linux, which apparently is similar to WinLinux 2000 (it runs on top of Windows). Unfortunately, the website doesn't give too many details, except that they are attempting to create the "easiest" to use distro of Linux yet."

Comments

Easy to use Linux Distros.

[Surak]

[soapbox-mode ON]
What's so bad about them? Because the run UMSDOS, which is slow? Because users don't have to tinker with cryptic config files?

My first distro was Slackware. I set it up on a UMSDOS to try it out (because I didn't want to have to wipe out "working" system...little did I suspect that my machine wasn't working half as well it does now :) Even then, it was still hard: I had to manually configure everything. Now its easier. So what?

Myself, I compare this my online experiences. When I first started out online, I had to figure out how to configure cryptic terminal emulator packages like ProComm (not even PLUS!) and learn silly things like baud rate, parity, stop bits. I had to learn to use download and upload protocols. I had to configure my offline mail reader with an ASCII text file (BlueWave). Later, when I setup my own BBS, I had to learn goofy things like FOSSIL drivers and mailer frontend software.

Then comes along things like Prodigy and AOL and they RUIN EVERYTHING. Now anyone and their mother can get online with point and click.

So what? It means more people get to be online. It means that people who don't care about computers the way hackers do, people who use comptuers as a TOOL can finally get to enjoy the things that we have come to enjoy.

The same holds true for Linux. If point and click installation programs that install the thing non-destructively on Windows boxes is what it takes for Linux to reach critical mass, SO BE IT. It means that Linux will get used by a wider audience and the community will grow. People will see why we like Linux so much, and maybe they'll switch to a full Red Hat or Debian distribution. Maybe they'll toss out Windows, and if enough people do that, so long Microsoft, so long Windows. The world will be a better place.

[end soapbox mode]

Yup

[Wah]

I went to buy a new NIC tonight at Best Buy (I should really stay away from that place) and asked a very helpful customer service agent if any of the NICs supported Linux. "Gosh, nobody done asked us that before." Finally I find one that says in black on green letters "Linux." Oh, yeah, the point? The guy behind me in the aisle was looking for a PCMCIA(NSA) card for his laptop, seems he wanted to get a bit more life out of it, using Linux. He was about 46 bald, greying and wanting to learn what everybody is talking about. Young and old, theeey'rrree heeerrrreee.

What makes Armed and WinLinux different

[KMSelf]

These are Linux distros with Windows-based installation programs. That's the novel feature -- the installation is like any other Windows program. Simplified transition for the newbie.

Both distros also run on UMSDOS (the Unix on DOS file system), a feature which has been around for ages. It means that you don't need to repartition or create filesystems to run Linux (it also means you can blow away Linux from within Windows or DOS).

Neither distro "runs on top of" windows in an executable sense. You get a dual-boot system. You choose, either, or. But both installation and execution (icon-based launcher) are streamlined.

These aren't power-user systems, they're introductory packages for getting Linux to the masses. Realize that a tool is a tool, and there are different tools for different problems. I think it's a neat concept. I probably won't install it myself (I'd have to go out and buy Windows first ....).

Image is everything (Why WinLinux will win)

[teraflop user]

There are three mainstream 'Linux for Windows' products in the news at the moment: Armed, Phat, and WinLinux2000. And several other distros that contain the same technology: Mandrake 6.1, Slackware, muLinux, and so on. And DemoLinux.

Technologically, Phat seem to be most mature and advanced, featuring the option of installing to a loopback file as well as UMSDOS, giving potentially better performance. I can't compare the hardware detection in the various products. I presume Armed doesn't do loopback, but their web server won't serve me any pages today, so I can't tell.

But technology will not determine success. My take on the ones which will succeed are as follows:

1. WinLinux2000 will win. It has the most accessible and descriptive name. It will appeal to Windows users. PhatLinux is an obscure hackerish joke on the name of the file system. Armed Linux sounds like a secure distro, not a newbie intro.
2. Mandrake 6.1 may grab the market if they chose to push this feature, on the basis of their reputation as a conventional distribution. Corel could do even better if they wanted to do UMS or loopback installs, because they have the Windows brand-name recognition.
3. DemoLinux will do well, and probably make lots of magazine coverdisks. Again, most importantly, the name says what it is.

Armed are going to take stick for their choice of web hosts, and the fact that their pages are unavailable whenever their product is in the news. Which seems perfectly fair to me.

As a community out technical efforts are occasionally sabotaged by lack of attention when it comes to image.

Use of IIS/NT explanation

[Neph]

Under "strategic partnerships", one of the names listed is "HalfPrice Hosting". So:

glait:/opt/nephtes/src\>host www.armed.net
www.armed.net has address 208.141.56.223
glait:/opt/nephtes/src\>host www.halfpricehosting.com
www.halfpricehosting.com has address 208.141.56.249

Same subnet.

So the reason the server is IIS is because that's what their hosting service uses. Now, you could argue that they ought to be pickier about who hosts their site, but at least they didn't actually decide to set up an NT web server to sell Linux! (No personal interest, incidentally, just thought I'd shed some light.)

Steve 'Nephtes' Freeland | Okay, so maybe I'm a tiny itty