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Xandros Desktop OS 3 Deluxe Edition Reviewed 233

Posted by michael from the works-for-me dept.
JimLynch writes "The new Xandros is out and we've got a review up on ExtremeTech. With the exception of some burps with our wireless card, we had a great time with this distro. Highly recommended if you're in the market for a replacement for Windows."
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Xandros Desktop OS 3 Deluxe Edition Reviewed More

Xandros Desktop OS 3 Deluxe Edition Reviewed

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  • Previous versions (Score:5, Informative)

    by euxneks ( 516538 ) on Saturday December 11, 2004 @03:12AM (#11058921)
    Previous versions of Xandros (2.0 specifically) are extremely stable and solid for me. The forums were always helpful to a complete n00b, and I'm proud to say I've been Windows-free since I've installed Xandros 2.0.

    • Re:Previous versions (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      ...and stay tuned for tomorrows AAA edition on how to stay "guilt free". This concludes todays discussion.
    • The original release of Xandros was Corel Linux. They spruced up a Debian-based distro with a custom configuration of KDE with a few extra utilitites and a nice set of custom icons. They even ported a few of the Windows apps. Corel Draw suite and Corel Word Perfect were both available for Corel Linux. WP was a native port, while Draw used WINE libraries, but was still an impressive piece of work.

      Though it was unrelated, anyone remember the Corel Netwider?

  • Prices . (Score:4, Informative)

    by qualico ( 731143 ) <worldcouchsurfer ... m ['ail' in gap]> on Saturday December 11, 2004 @03:17AM (#11058936) Journal
    1. Xandros Desktop OS Version 2.5 - Business Edition $ 118.00
    2. Xandros Desktop OS version 2.5 Deluxe $ 87.00
    3. Xandros Open Circulation Editon CD $ 4.99
    4. Xandros Desktop version 2 - Standard Edition $ 36.00
    5. Xandros Desktop OS Version 3 Deluxe - NNTP CD $ FREE

  • Comparison with Windows (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Dorsai65 ( 804760 ) <dkmerriman@gm[ ].com ['ail' in gap]> on Saturday December 11, 2004 @03:26AM (#11058963) Homepage Journal

    I find it telling that a Linux distro compares installation and configuration against the ease of Windows. Don't get me wrong (I run Suse 9), but I think this is an example of how far Linux has to go.

    What most *nix folks don't seem to appreciate is that the vast majority of computer users are just that: users. They don't care what's happening inside the machine or anything else; they just want to DO stuff. Making apps easy to (un)install, without having to worry about dependencies and all that, and making the system easy to configure, is probably THE thing that Windows does that keeps Linux from being a contender.

    Looks to me like Xandros is meeting that need. I'll be checking it out and if its as easy as the article says (yes, I did actually read it), I'll be trying to get folks I know started with it.

    • I totally agree with you, but I've known a lot of people switching from Windows to anything else (Linux, *BSD, OS X) in the last year because they are tired of fighting all of the security problems that they run into on Windows. This isn't to say that alternate OSes don't have just as many (if not more) security flaws, but they are less agressively exploited. I think the immunity to Windows exploits will drive a lot of people to try Xandros and similar Windows replacements, and probably get quite a few co
      • The Xandros folks told me in email that they chopped GIMP off the main CD because of size constraints. It's still there but just on the applications CD. So no biggie but I just always think of GIMP as being a natural part of my Linux desktop.
    • What many people who make similar comments to this don't realise that many computer users are hackers and use computers for their hobby and/or their job. If linux ever fails to accomidate them, not only will it loose its core user base, but its volenteer development will grind to a halt and it will pretty much cease to exist.

      Linux's universal adoption would be cool, however for it to do so, it must first and formost win geeks over though performance, flexibility and general coolness if it is ever going to

      • What many people who make similar comments to this don't realise that many computer users are hackers and use computers for their hobby and/or their job. If linux ever fails to accomidate them, not only will it loose its core user base, but its volenteer development will grind to a halt and it will pretty much cease to exist.

        I think Linux will stay able to accomodate the geeks among us. That's where the leading edge of development is, really.

        It helps to think of Linux not in terms of "Linux" in the same

      • What many people who make similar comments to this don't realise that many computer users are hackers and use computers for their hobby and/or their job.

        So the secretary that types up letters for her boss is equivalent to a hacker?

        Would you also say that all of those folks that made AOL all that money fall into the category of "hackers"? Or would you say they're more likely just a bunch of ordinary folks that couldn't care less what was going on inside the computer, and just wanted to use it, like they

    • It's easier to install software with Xandros then it is with windows.

      First of all it's all in one place. You don't have to search the web to find it, you just fire up the gui and search.

      Secondly there is no download, save to disk, double click, unzip, answer click OK 5 times, input a 30 digit CD key or anything like that. Just click and go.

      The best part is the updating is done the same way.

      Way better then windows.

      I tried all the distros and xandros was the best for me.
      • "You don't have to search the web to find it, you just fire up the gui and search."

        a lot of people are really confused by this concept. they see a file on a webpage a friend showed them, and they say "hey, i want that." they want to get it right then from right there, not from some other program/location. and they usually just "run from location" instead of saving to disk. i dont know if IE offers that option anymore, i havent used it in a year, but its what i always did for installs when i used it.

        esse

        • "a lot of people are really confused by this concept. "

          I don't think so. With windows they didn't have a centralized repository of software that runs on their machine. With Xandros it's right on the desktop. Click on it and there is all the software that will run on your machine. Once you get used to that why would you spend hours looking for software on the internet?

          "but windows users mainly want that "download file, run, program installed" process."

          That's only because that's all they know. Xandros offe
          • i really have to disagree to most of that, unfortunately. i usually spend about 2 minutes total looking for a new piece of software on the internet, and that includes being able to see screenshots and features and what not on the sites homepage. and the last time i downloaded something with a virus in it from a website was in the mid-90 when i was an AOL fiend, new to the internet.

            this is all just my opinion though. a central location for all your downloads and installs probably works great for a ton of p

    • SuSE has come a HELL of a long way. Configuration is super-easy, and application (un)installation is almost idiot-proof (you can't tell me that Windows is anywhere close to that level). Grated, we have tools like apt-get and such, but nothing is as easy for the joe-six-pack user as installing software in YaST...

      [click] Open YaST
      [type] root password
      [click] Install and Remove Software
      [type] into search box either what the prog is, what it does, what it contains, what it requires, etc.
      [click] to select t
    • Which is exactly why I switched to Mac OS X. I haven't looked back since.

  • I wonder ... (Score:2, Insightful)

    by xdesk ( 550151 )
    I can not stop wondering why none of the (many) recent Linux reviews are mentioning essential notebook features - like power management or the suspend/hibernate/resume ability ...
    • Are these features really essential? I find a lot of them annoying. We got a new Vaio last year, and this was my first new laptop since my K6-2 300, and included lots of new fangled "features". The first time that I closed the laptop to carry it to a differnt room it "hibernated", which I wasn't really expecting. Maybe I had been away from modern laptops for too long, but that wasn't really a feature I was looking for. If I want to turn a computer off, I'll shut it down myself. I don't want the machin
      • You can control the power control actions taken on different events through the files in /etc/acpi, or with the config tools.
        The time from power on to desktop from hibernation is about a third of the full power on time on my laptop - it's a very useful feature.
        • The machine that I encountered this on is a Windows XP box. When I was debating turning off all of these features, I timed its startup from hibernate and from a full shutdown, and there was almost no noticeable difference. I was surprised at that, but it convinced me that there was no advantage to the hibernate feature, at least on that laptop. I also now have a Dell Latitude (from work) Win2K box, which comes out of hibernate much more quickly than it does a clean boot, but I still leave the hibernate f

  • Personally, I run Linux because... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by ErichTheWebGuy ( 745925 ) on Saturday December 11, 2004 @04:19AM (#11059083) Homepage
    ... I *DO NOT* want a Windows replacement, I want something better. The Linux community needs to quit trying to make another Windows and focus on its core strengths as an alternative! I actually started out back in the days of RedHat 6 and have never looked back. I currently run SuSE 9.1 and can still not see why anyone would choose to run Windows if they know what else is out there.

    I have converted several of my friends and family (with the exception of some designers that wanna use Dreamweaver for whatever reason). Those that I have converted have all said things like "wow, I just accepted that the Internet sucks like that [when using ie]" and "wow, my computer really is fast"
      1. I *DO NOT* want a Windows replacement, I want something better.

      Look at Gnome on a desktop like Ubuntu. [ubuntulinux.org] It's not better in all respects yet, though it is often much better. The folks on the Gnome project are showing how to do a clean desktop with just what you need...where it makes sense and where it is consistant. A simple thing is that they put the desktop application menu on the top -- not on the bottom. For corporate use, it would be the one I'd like to support and not KDE.

      For the record, wh

    • ... I *DO NOT* want a Windows replacement

      Neither do I, and neither do most people who know how good the alternatives are, but unfortunately:

      If you've used Windows' "Start" button, you'll feel right at home with Xandros' "Launch" button. It's pretty much the same thing. We can't help but wonder why everybody who creates operating systems doesn't just call that button "Start." Can Microsoft have trademarked the word start? We somehow doubt it.

    • The Linux community needs to quit trying to make another Windows and focus on its core strengths as an alternative!

      translation: the linux "community" needs to do my bidding because their diversity is ruining my 1337 image
    • mod me to hell if you must, but what exactly are these glorious advantages??

      the only "advantage" i can think of is that the kernel is more secure than the windows core. the rest is all software. if you put firefox, openoffice, gaim, cygwin on a windows system the only thing you are now missing that might possibly make linux better is the desktop (kde, gnome) and package management (ala apt). you can say that X's network transparency or the multi-user abilities of linux are better, but the average Joe doesn

    • I *DO NOT* want a Windows replacement, I want something better. The Linux community needs to quit trying to make another Windows and focus on its core strengths as an alternative! I actually started out back in the days of RedHat 6 and have never looked back. I currently run SuSE 9.1 and can still not see why anyone would choose to run Windows if they know what else is out there.

      You're arguing a point that doesn't need to be made. There are already a variety of *nix-based OSes that are better than windo

    • The "windows replacement" moniker is understood as replacing with something better, not equivalent.

      Mindless useless nitpicking is frankly irritating.
  • When I read trhough the comments, I saw the fortune down the page was: The prejudices people feel about each other disappear when then get to know each other (Cpt. Kirk)

    Now this is also true for Linux distros. I just got fed up over the years with the ever going bashing and false arguments.

    I mean like: install and looks like Windows - so what the heck, exactly a point why I never would want such a distro on my machines; or it's the best multimedia distro - again, what the heck, it's just what you make o

  • VPN support (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Plug ( 14127 ) on Saturday December 11, 2004 @05:28AM (#11059207) Homepage
    So, this version contains VPN support. PPTP? IPSEC? Cisco VPN concentrator? Can anyone give me any more details?

    Is the VPN client open source?
    • I'd imagine at least PPTP and ipsec, since pptp support has been around for at least 3 years and ipsec is built into the 2.6 kernel series.
      • PPTP support relies on compiling the unsupported MPPE into your kernel, and until recently, either using scripts or a GTK1 gui written in PHP.

        It's possible, but not pretty. I'm interested to see if the Xandros GUI can be used on other distros.
        • PPTP support relies on compiling the unsupported MPPE into your kernel

          Well, only if the other end insists on using MPPE, nothing in PPTP support itself requires it.

          and until recently, either using scripts or a GTK1 gui written in PHP.

          Perhaps, but the config file "scripts" or php gui create are rather simple, making more modern gui that doesn't require phpgtk probably wouldn't be all that hard if there was sufficient demand for such. Apparently xandros believes there is.

    • Re:VPN support (Score:3, Informative)

      by OldGreyTroll ( 839424 )
      From: http://www.xandros.com/products/home/desktopdlx/ds k_dlx_whatsnew.html [xandros.com]

      PPTP VPN client
      Whether you're using your work computer on the road or need to connect your home system to your company's network, accessing you're corporate virtual private network (VPN) is a requirement for many people. The new PPTP VPN client from Xandros makes accessing your corporate VPN easy.

  • Licence violation? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by northcat ( 827059 )
    Just looking at the screenshots tell us that Xandros contains modified version of GPLed or other open source apps. Doesn't that mean that they should release the source code of their modification? I can't seem to find a link to download source code. (I know they have free version but does it offer the source code?) In fact, not just Xandros, most of these commercial distros don't release their modified source code. And Lindows (Linspire) didn't even have a free version until yesterday (metaphorically yester
    • Looking in the Xandros FAQs I found: http://www.xandros.com/support/source_code.html [xandros.com]

      Source Code
      Much of the software that comprises Xandros Desktop is Free or Open Source software. Many of the licenses that govern the redistribution this software require Xandros to make the source code for these components available to anyone who receives a copy of the product. You can access the source code for the Free and Open Source software components in Xandros Desktop in our FTP archive.

  • Xandros is a great distro (Score:3, Insightful)

    by HangingChad ( 677530 ) on Saturday December 11, 2004 @09:15AM (#11059749) Homepage
    Xandros is the only OS this box has seen. Some minor problems here and there but overall it's the least frustrating transition distro I've tried.

    It's not free but comes bundled with CrossOver, which is not a free app. And it works. It's amazing to run IE and Photoshop on this box.

    If you're an uber geek Xandros isn't for you. I use it because it's easy and when I get home from the MSFT environment at work I don't want to fight with technology. I just want something that works without being a security freak show and that's Xandros.

    • If you're an uber geek Xandros isn't for you.

      I'm an uber geek and I take offense at that!

      Ok, well, maybe I'm not uber in terms of the crowd around here, but I do write open source software for a living, made a linux digital picture frame, design my own parabolic WiFi dishes and manage 4 Linux servers (2 Debian, 1 Red Hat, 1 Suse) and a FreeBSD server. I'm not coding graphics applications in assembly just for the fun of it, but none-the less, I could run any distro I wanted without hitch.

      Still, I run Xan
      • I'm an uber geek and I take offense at that!

        My apologies to Xandros-running uber geeks everywhere! lol.

        You're right on about the time savings. Printers, scanners, share drives with the token Windows box...it's a breeze.

        Just ordered the boxed edition of 3.0. Can't wait. Wish I could find a customer for their desktop management server. Be fun to play around with that.

        I bet you could substitute Xandros on business desktops and most users would hardly notice the difference. Except that wasn't crash

  • Does anyone know if they will relase a "community edition"?

    There was one for 2.x, however as of the other day a 3.0 had not been released.

    Ya im being cheap.

  • I'm stuck with a Linksys WMP54G wireless card, with the broadcom chipset. Needless to say, wireless internet does not work, at all. Does Xandros solve the problem of having to configure NDISwrapper manually?
  • Where the heck is the free Xandros Open Circulation 3 download? The downloads page only lists version 2 which is really out dated. http://www.xandros.com/products/home/desktopoc/dsk _oc_download.html
  • I know this is petty, but.. almost all distro screenshots look really fantastic with one exception. That craptastic clock with the fake digital font looks so terrible. i can't stand it! It seems really outdated, yet all the distro screenshots have that same terrible font. Hasn't anybody changed that?
  • picked up everything on my laptop (ZE4545US) from hp except for wireless wich is normal for my broadcom chip...i never use it anyway and i can make it work with ndiswrapper...good for newbs and even hardcore users cuz there apt frontend is already pointed at debian testing and u just install all the debiad goodies u want...i install alot of debian stuff without any problems...very god stuff and highly recomended ...used to use suse but i dont like the way suse lays out there packeges...Xandros 3 is the solu

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