Old Weird Ward
Unless otherwise noted, that which is posted here is opinion, which is protected by the First Amendment to the US Constitution. If you don't like my opinions, go somewhere else. Nobody is forcing you to actually read this drivel.
The presumption exists that you can read at all.
That may be a large assumption.
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Thursday, July 22, 2004
- - - - - OWW and Xandros Linux - - - - -
As previously reported, Chez OWW (aka The Swamp) has acquired Xandros Desktop OS Version 2 Business. This is a Linux distribution based on Debian Linux, and includes a component that, to my mind, is critical to the success of any non-Microsoft operating system. There are a couple of shortcomings that may cause OWW to stop using Xandros. The operative word there is "may" - I'll get there in a while.
Desktop OS Version 2 Business and Version 2 Deluxe include a component called CrossOver Office, which allows Microsoft Office to run on a Linux System.
Before continuing to read this column, I strongly urge you to follow the links above to get more info.
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You're back? Good.
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Installation of Xandros was a snap.
The system I use the most is a 1.7G Celeron, on an Intel 845 motherboard, with integrated graphics, 10/100 network card, USB ports, and a partridge in a pear tree. It's essentially a vanilla, middle-of-the-road system that is two years old and is known to be reliable hardware.
I have a hard disk that I use for experiments like this - a 20G Seagate. The Xandros CD 1 detected all the hardware. My "live" system, including data, lives on another drive. I swap them out as required using one of those handy-dandy "drive tray" gizmos that lives in one of the 5 1/4" drive bays in the case.
So I throw the install CD into the CD/RW drive, reboot the system and the install starts. After answering five questions (root password, 1st user name, 1st user password, and "Use the whole drive?", and what type of install - I chose the everything selection) the whole shooting match installed without my needing to lift a finger, in about thirty minutes.
And...everything works as advertised.
The default web browser is Mozilla. It looks a bit different than Internet Explorer, but it works OK.
The default email client is Mozilla Mail. After entering in the mail-server names for incoming and outgoing mail, and the passwords, I gave it a try - it works at least as well as Outlook Express.
Microsoft Office 2000 installed, and it just.... works. Just as it does under Win2K/XP. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, it all works. There's a reason that Microsoft Office is so popular - the combination and integration of all the applications is very well done, and the apps themselves are, at the least, workable, and especially for Word, the best there is.
I used the "Xandros Network" icon to connect to the Xandros server, and downloaded Ximian Evolution, as a replacement for Microsoft Outlook 2000 - the jury is still out on that. I have to jump through some hoops to transfer my contacts and old emails to Ximian from Outlook 2K - I'll report on that another time.
Two apps that don't run under Linux are giving me a little heart-burn.
NoteTab Light is my favorite text editor - in fact, I use it to write these posts, unless I'm in Xandros Linux. In Linux, I use the default editor right now, which is, I think, K-Text (K-Edit?) Since I'm doing this review in Win2K, and I didn't jot down a little Post-It note, and my memory stinks, I can't tell you at the moment. (I've been living with Xandros as my main OS for the last 4 days. I had to go back to Win2K for a bit for access to some data I needed, and I haven't gone back yet.)
Robo-Type is a keyboard macro utility that I've been using since 1998. Simply by using a "/" character, plus a letter or letters, I can paste any text into any Windows application. For instance, "/blue" will give - - - - - You Might Be A Blueneck If... - - - - -, which is something I paste into my blog from time to time.
I expect that there are utilities like the two I described above available for Linux - and I'll find them, sooner or later.
So far, I'm very favorably impressed. And at $129 a copy list price, which includes CrossOver Office, vs. $399 for Windows XP Professional, Xandros is, so far, a real deal.
Microsoft is definitely going to get some competition from these folks, which is a Good Thing.
I'll be commenting further as I go along. I'll keep you posted.
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