With its Linux desktop product, Xandros is focusing on short list of features to push Microsoft off the desktop. Microsoft is currently fighting a virtual game of king of the hill with OS competitors attempting to claw their way to the high ground. The latest challenger is Xandros, armed with its Linux-based desktop operating system Xandros Desktop Version 4 Home Edition Premium.
Can Xandros Linux Desktop Replace Windows Media Centre?
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Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
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15 Comments
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2006-07-11 7:45 pm
Moulinneuf“So what else is new?”
Some competition , competition is always good.
“MythTV and Freevo ”
Are Media appliance , who use the already exsiting solution availaible. The goal are different.
From elisa :
“Elisa is a project to create an open source cross platform media center solution.”
Its like saying whats new with Firefox I already got Safari on my MAC.
“Just because it runs GStreamer it doesn’t mean it’s particularly new or innovative.”
GStreamer is a library that allows the construction of graphs of media-handling components.
the difference its on how its used and what software is built with it.
2006-07-11 7:32 pm
Moulinneuf
http://www.team-mediaportal.com/
Someone need to port this to GNU/Linux its GPL and beat the crap out of Windows Media center but somehow its not ported.
2006-07-11 4:01 am
pollycat
It’s obvious that Xandros is positioning their desktop as a “replacement” for Windows for those Windows users who are fed up with that product. As their press release states: “Xandros, the leading provider of easy-to-use Linux alternatives to Windows desktop and server products.” This sets certain expectations.
The problem here is that typical Windows users will eventually perceive Xandros 4.0 as a step down. Most Windows users are tempted to leave Windows because of the following reasons: (1) They are tired of viruses and spyware and malware and all the other “nasties” that they have to worry about, (2) They are tired of insulting Microsoft “activation” and “genuine advantage” schemes.
When they first boot up the new Xandros 4.0, they are greeted with the requirement to “activate” their product, something Windows refugees are actually trying to get away from. Then the new Xandros Security Suite starts nagging them to update their antivirus and do a scan, etc. “But I thought I’d left all those ‘nasties’ behind when turning to Linux – you mean I still have to deal with all that crap here???”
Then they start discovering all the stuff that doesn’t work – the lack of total hardware support, the lack of drivers for that new all-in-one printer, the inability to run that “Thomas the Tank Engine” game for their kid, the inability to watch any Quicktime 7 trailers at apple.com, the inability to watch Windows Media files that are protected by DRM, the inability to play DVDs without first jumping through all kinds of hoops, the inability to … the list goes on.
In the end, users could be forgiven for thinking, “Have I actually downgraded by moving to this product? It seems to offer all the disadvantages of Windows with few advantages!”
I applaud Xandros for creating a product which is deceptively familiar to Windows and therefore should initially offer some comfort to Windows converts and require a gentle learning curve. However, once the familiarity wears off, it is then that the reality starts to creep in – heh, this is actually NOT Windows and, in some ways, appears to be LESS THAN Windows. When looked at from this angle, there may be some advantage to Linux distributions that do not seek to mimick Windows – in this way, the new convert is reminded from the get-go that “Heh, this IS different, we are NOT in Windows-land any more”, and expectations are set appropriately as a result.
Make it look and behave like Windows and, when it doesn’t behave like Windows (or when it does, as in the case of activation and security suites!), you have a perception and expectation problem. Added to this that most users received Windows “free” with their machine (or so they believe) and Xandros 4.0 Premium costs almost the same as a Windows XP Home upgrade license, I think many people will wonder why they should bother forking out for what is essentially a “downgrade” to them.
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2006-07-11 10:33 am
Gone fishingUsing the term Activation seems to me like taking a shotgun to the foot. The Xandros activation is not like the Windows version i.e. unless you do this I’ll stop working in 30 days and counting. It’s just so you can use the Xandros networks online repository.
Why didn’t they just say please register with your copy of Xandros to make Xandros network available?
As for the AV – OK a virus won’t effect your system, but if you are using Crossover Office and MS office you can still have MS macro viruses on your system which will effect Windows users that you pass the files onto – and can your codewavers win32 environment become infected – maybe the AV isn’t a bad idea.
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2006-07-11 1:24 pm
amavida“In the end, users could be forgiven for thinking, “Have I actually downgraded by moving to this product? It seems to offer all the disadvantages of Windows with few advantages!”
Yeah you make good points there I’m afraid.
I’d love to ditch Windows but after years & years of testing & researching many MANY Linux ‘distros’ this is still pretty much the case unfortunately.
Fingers crossed that maybe the next few iterations of SLED will quickly fix the _GLARING_ bugs & continue to rapidly improve.
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2006-07-11 2:18 pm
netpythonSecurity Suite starts nagging them to update their antivirus and do a scan, etc. “But I thought I’d left all those ‘nasties’ behind when turning to Linux – you mean I still have to deal with all that crap here???”
Don’t agree with you on this one.I think most windows users will be quite familiar with security suites and will feel quite happy to see it included.
How unix/linux is affected by virii,etc is badly presented by most marketing people.As if there aren’t unix/linux virii or they all cannot possibly harm unix/linux which is utter nonsence.
I agree with you that linux isn’t ready yet for the non-corporate environment in general (desktop) but comes very close.Furthermore now Vista is commonly regarded to be not the thing they had expected it to be,exessive hardware requirements,scrapped features,etc.More and more people will look for alternatives in their server rooms.Unix/linux is a very strong opponent there.From there eventually corporate environments might extend their linux/unix use to desktop use aswell.Once users increasingly get in touch with unix/linux in their working environment it’s not hard to imagine they will start to use it more at home aswell.
http://www.apcstart.com/site/admin/2006/07/650/ultimate-desktop-sea…
Edited 2006-07-11 14:22
2006-07-11 9:27 am
segedunum
What on Earth have any of the things described in that article got to do with Windows Media Centre?
Media Centre, XP and Vista are completely different versions of Windows. First he talks about Xandros being a replacement for Windows by talking about e-mail, graphics editing and Crossover Office and then flits on to the subject of Media Centre, remote controls and across the room interfaces.
This article has a bit of an identity crisis.
…they implement XGA 😉
I don’t think Xandros will be a big player anytime soon. Novell’s SUSE is much more promising and gets much more attention.
Anyway, with the activation in v4, Xandros isnt attracting more users than before. On many forums I see people moving away from it.
I don’t think Xandros will be a big player anytime soon. Novell’s SUSE is much more promising and gets much more attention.
Attention from whom? Seriously, I think many people are a bit deluded as to how many people are paying SLED any attention or even know it exists.
All told, companies like Xandros and Linspire probably have more customers than Novell has for their desktop. NLD 9 seems to have sank completely without trace.
“Attention from whom?”
Ready ?
– Server Rooms
– CTO
– CEO
– Press
– Technical press
– Financial press
– Wallstreet
– Governement
– SMB
– Retail
– Mega Corporation
etc …
Novell as partners that Both Linspire and Xandros can only dream of :
http://www.novell.com/partners/alliance.html?sourceidint=t2_partner…
Those are the company paying attention to SLED. They dont for Xandros and Linspire at all.
“All told, companies like Xandros and Linspire probably have more customers than Novell has for their desktop.”
– Ximian
– Mono
– SUSE
– NLD
– Open SUSE
– Gnome ( Neither Xandros nor Linspire cather to Gnome users )
– KDE ( they both use heavily KDE , but no one get to see there Developper there development and contribution )
– Xandros is not profitable and heavily in debt
– Linspire is not profitable heavily in debt and failed all there previous IPO at getting public.
Neither of them make the top 500 software company in the world , Novel is #22
Please show me where you get your numbers.
I agree, I have purcased Xandros 1,2,2 Business,and 3 Business but I will not be buying Xandros 4.
Activation on linux… such a poor choice, I was offered a deeply discounted copy as part of my Beta Testing of Xandros Server and I declined.
I’ll not support something that drags activation onto the desktop.
the server? maybe, I can see wanting to protect your bread and butter.
Um, the desktop is Xandros’s bread and butter. I’m pretty sure the desktop brings in way more revenue than the server.
The activation is not intrusive, it will not shut down your system if you fail to activate. All it does is give you access to their servers for updates and installing new software. I admit that I’m not impressed by it but it’s not stopping me from upgrading.
I’ve been a Xandros user for about 2 years nows (version 2 OCE and 3.02 Deluxe) and I’ve yet to see a distro that can touch them for ease of setup and maintenance (especially if you have a windows network). However, they also seem to have a large issue with piracy. If you have a better solution to keep people from stealing their software, I’m sure they’d love to hear it.
Personally, I think it’s sad that so many people feel that it’s OK (or even cool) to pirate software/music/movies/etc. If people were just honest, we wouldn’t need things like product activation.
>> “Xandros is focusing on short list of features to push Microsoft off the desktop.”
:rolleyes: Yeah, like that’s going to happen.
Only if includes this:
http://www.fluendo.com/elisa/
Only if includes this: