Xandros - Linux For The Windows Nub
DOOManiac
Worst. Critic. Ever. Join Date: 2002-04-17 Member: 462Members, NS1 Playtester
Worst. Critic. Ever. Join Date: 2002-04-17 Member: 462Members, NS1 Playtester
<div class="IPBDescription">Anybody use it?</div>Before we get started: OMG Slashdot! DOOM'ed! etc etc etc.
Okay. Now that that's out of the way, I saw a neat <a href='http://www.xyzcomputing.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=382&Itemid=2&limit=1&limitstart=4' target='_blank'>review</a> about a linux distro called <a href='http://www.xandros.com/' target='_blank'>Xandros</a> that is supposed to be geared w/ the Windows user in mind. From the screenies in the review it certainly looks closer to Windows than any other Linux distro I've seen. The real cool thing is appearently it has some WINE-like software bundled w/ it and it claims that most windows apps work w/ it, which sounds a little far fetched to me.
So I was wondering if any of you guys had experience w/ this distro, and if so, what you thought of it. If you guys give it good marks, I'll be pondering wiping Fedora Core from my laptop and putting this on instead...
Okay. Now that that's out of the way, I saw a neat <a href='http://www.xyzcomputing.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=382&Itemid=2&limit=1&limitstart=4' target='_blank'>review</a> about a linux distro called <a href='http://www.xandros.com/' target='_blank'>Xandros</a> that is supposed to be geared w/ the Windows user in mind. From the screenies in the review it certainly looks closer to Windows than any other Linux distro I've seen. The real cool thing is appearently it has some WINE-like software bundled w/ it and it claims that most windows apps work w/ it, which sounds a little far fetched to me.
So I was wondering if any of you guys had experience w/ this distro, and if so, what you thought of it. If you guys give it good marks, I'll be pondering wiping Fedora Core from my laptop and putting this on instead...
Comments
installed on second pc
couldnt figure out how to install firefox
formatted
installed xp <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
The open circulation version doesn't have crossover. The UI is crap, it's KDE made to look like the Windows UI, sort of, but it fails.
Ubuntu is good for beginers.
If you want a Windows replacement, check out ReactOS.
Also, Ubuntu to install firefox (if it wasn't installed by default).
<!--c1--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>CODE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='CODE'><!--ec1-->#sudo apt-get install firefox<!--c2--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--ec2-->
I'm pretty convinced you shouldn't switch to Linux unless Windows does every single thing you need it to do 200% wrong, and at that point you need to buy some sort of book.
But good luck to those going to try anyway!
It's running Word. It does look alot like Windows, especially the File Manager.
EDIT: Uh-oh knew it was too good to be true.
[QUOTE] includes a 30-day evaluation of CodeWeavers Crossover Office, an enhanced version of the Open Source Wine project, that allows you to run some Microsoft Windows compatible applications without having Microsoft Windows installed on your system. This technology continues to evolve and support more and more applications but smaller Microsoft Windows compatible applications run successfully on Xandros Desktop without any modification. Some larger applications such as Microsoft Word also run well. Installing a supported application under CrossOver Office is usually as easy as inserting a Windows application CD-ROM and following the regular setup procedure.[/QUOTE]
Supported Applications are [/QUOTE]<a href='http://www.codeweavers.com/site/products/cxoffice/supported_apps/' target='_blank'>here</a>. It's basically anything made by Intuit, Adobe, Microsoft, iPix or Apple.
BF2? Team speak? MSN messenger? Photoshop and paintshop pro?
Im such a noob for when it comes to linux cross bread OS's.
I couldn't:
A) Figure out how to access NTFS partitions
B) Set up a PPPoE connection to find out how online
C) Do anything else.
I ended up connecting the HDD to my brother's computer. <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
installed on second pc
couldnt figure out how to install firefox
formatted
installed xp <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
....Firefox comes with the default install.
Doing the default install is suppositely a "4 click" process.
<!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
BF2? Team speak? MSN messenger? Photoshop and paintshop pro?
Im such a noob for when it comes to linux cross bread OS's. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
I know for a fact WINE can run photoshop... games can be tricky....
EDIT: Turns out it's <b>$5 a month</b>, but there's a minimum 3 month subscription charge. So at least the $15 had some relevance somewhere x.x;
<a href='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedega' target='_blank'>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedega</a>
You only have to continue paying if you want the latest and greatest every month. You can unsubscribe your Cedega whenever you want, and youll still get to keep the last version you have installed.
You can also download it for free from CVS, if I recall correctly. But those wont have the proprietary binaries.
*edit*
I just found <a href='http://ubuntuguide.org/' target='_blank'>this</a> nifty (and long) guide which has a crapload of information for anyone wanting to get into Ubuntu.
I couldn't:
A) Figure out how to access NTFS partitions
B) Set up a PPPoE connection to find out how online
C) Do anything else.
I ended up connecting the HDD to my brother's computer. <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
A)...
<!--c1--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>CODE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='CODE'><!--ec1-->#mkdir /mnt/ntfs
#mount /dev/hda5 /mnt/ntfs<!--c2--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--ec2-->
That's assuming NTFS support is compiled into the Kernel (I think it's default in Ubuntu) You can also add the following to your /etc/fstab to have it auto mount at boot.
<!--c1--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>CODE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='CODE'><!--ec1-->/dev/hda5 /mnt/ntfs ntfs defaults,umask=0000 0 0<!--c2--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--ec2-->
Both of those assume that the ntfs partition you want is /dev/hda5
B) #sudo pppoeconf
C) RTFM <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
I REPEAT, YOUR HEAD WILL EXPLODE.
Mind you, this is coming from an OSS advocate. There was a time when I never would have said these things (though I might have been thinking them), but after so much frsutration trying to get an OSS OS running in a way I can stand (and I'm definatly no UNIX newbie) I've grown fed up with the linux community's inability to utilize modern software concepts and build something that is more than an ugly hack ... Holy ****, I just had one of those feelings, you know the ones you get when you say something you could swear you've head MonsE say? Anyways, that is not to mention that when they do finally feel something nees modernizing, its something really stupid like the eye-candy capabilities of X11. *sigh*
If I had to suggest a linux distro, I wouldn't, but here are some projects to checkout:
<a href='http://www.gobolinux.org' target='_blank'>Gobolinux</a> - This distro won't save you from having to know a bit about what you're doing, or editing cnfiguration files by hand (get used to it, unless the linux community pulls its head out of its **** this is here to stay), oh and its default desktop is KDE (nastiness), but it is the most organized distribution in existance.
<a href='http://www.symphonyos.com/' target='_blank'>Symphony</a> - Still in alpha and based on KNOPPIX, but doing very well for its lofty gaols. They've re-engineered the way desktops work and it is very awesome. It will use AppDirs for most of its software eventually and this will allow very easy program installation and management (as simple as copying, moving, and deleting directories!). Unfortunatly all the base system is still linux, so be prepared to edit config files by hand if you want to change something that Symphony doesn't allow you to change yet (or ever).
They're usually the worst offenders actually.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Is there a Linux distro with ease of use and organization that can compete with Windows?<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Sorta, but not really. Windows itself isn't really all that easy to use and it is especially disorganized. One thing it does have is standardization. There are some "easy to use" (as in: pretend everyone is an idiot about somethings and eleet hacker man about others). Let my try and say this annother way:
Pick a distro, any distro. Now, lets say you heard about some cool softare and you want to try it, what are your options? Well, the best option is typically to use something like apt-get to download the software from your distro's repository. And this is great, when it works. The sad fact is that as well as some would like to think their package managers work, I've seen debian (arguably the most stable distro with the best package system and dependancy resolution) corrupt its own apt-cache to the point where I can't install, or uninstall, anything anymore, install programs with conflicting dependancies with what is already in the system and hose the lot, and just plain not work. The sad part is that none of this is nessesary, library confllicts are a thing of the past for most other OSs. Even if apt didn't break, theres still a good cahnce that the software you want(or at least the version you want) isn't in the repository at all! So your next best solution is probably to install from source, which requires having the development environment installed and tracking down dependancies by hand and still running the chance that it won't friggen work right. To make everything all the more joyful, if you decide to uninstal the software later then chances are all its dependancies will remain (wasting disk space) and it might just not work at all.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I'd think there'd be, like, 1 outside of Apple products (they're based on *nix if I recall right).<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Sorta, but only the very base system is based on a *nix (Darwin, to be specific). The GUI and the way most programs and libraries are dealt with is based on OPENSTEP standards, which were developed by a collaboration between Sun and NeXT. Openstep is really awesome, but unfortunatly only a small portion of the OSS community realises its awesomeness, they make up the GNUStep community. GNUStep is really pretty amazing, except that it is only a UI layer and uses some hacks to acheive its goals (and there aren't alot of applications for it). If GNUStep were to make their own *nix based OS and integrate themselves with it then you'd be pretty close to an OSS MacOSX (actually, it'd follow Fitz's law better and be lighter weight).
Naturally, this will never happen (see Linuxstep for an attempt and to learn why it failed and why it will never be).
Its sad, really really sad.
There are some interesting non-traditional *nix OS projects out there though:
<a href='http://haiku-os.org/learn.php' target='_blank'>Haiku</a> - Making good progress reimplimenting BeOS, which was THE multimedia OS in its day. As with all such smaller projects, it is lacking in applications due to a derth of developers. Haiku does have the advantage of having all those old BeOS apps to work with, when they reach their first release anyway. Interesting bonus: there was once a WINE port to beos, so after its first release we would likely see a new port based on a current version, and windows apps would be runnable (to an extent) under BeOS.
<a href='http://www.syllable.org/' target='_blank'>Syllable</a> - Its a fast desktop oriented lightweight OS that is still in the early phases but making good progress.
<a href='http://www.reactos.org/' target='_blank'>ReactOS</a> - An OSS reimplimentation of Windows. Making slow progress, but can already run Quake.
About the ease of use thing, Xandros actually puts some effort into it. The installer is shorter than WinXP's, and theres a GUI for most things you'll encounter. If you wanna *say* that youre running Linux but actually not know much of the concepts running underneath, this is probably the best you'll get.
Also, Im getting tired of the Gentoo stereotypes. Running Gentoo DOES NOT mean you MUST tweak everything. The install isnt half as hard as you guys make it out to be. I found the experience similar to following the manual that comes with your Lego Castle Set . Also, for the lazier ones, theres <b><a href='http://desktop.vidalinux.com/' target='_blank'>VidaLinux</a></b>. You'll get Gentoo's portage system (the whole point of Gentoo, really) and its got a graphical installer.
<a href='http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/9630/screenshot3im.png' target='_blank'>Linkeh</a>
<a href='http://cab00se.com/Screenshot.jpg' target='_blank'>My Linkeh</a>
And how is Gnome hard to customize? It's much more customizable than Explorer...
<a href='http://cab00se.com/Screenshot.jpg' target='_blank'>My Linkeh</a>
And how is Gnome hard to customize? It's much more customizable than Explorer... <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
It's not 'hard' its time consuming. Or at least in Ubuntu it is when I have to sudo every time i want to copy something to a different directory. Most of my time was spent just trying to get the little gnome foot icon for the menu panel changed to the Ubuntu icon I had found.
then seet a root password. You can then use
<!--c1--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>CODE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='CODE'><!--ec1-->su -<!--c2--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--ec2-->
to login as root to copy files.