FlexBeta got a chance to try out Lindows 4.0. Taking a couple of screenshots, they noticed that over the hood there isn’t much change over the previous version. Lindows continues to abandon the Windows compatibility as it tries to pave the way for Linux to the desktop.
LindowsOS 4.0, a Quick Look
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Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
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couldn’t get Office 2003 to install. When clicking setup.exe a pop-up asks what you would like that application to open with. This is because Wine is not standard with Lindows 4.0, it is however available through Click ‘N Burn.
Does that mean had Wine been installed, he would’ve been able to run Office 2003 on Lindows?
Not likely.
Office XP, 2000 or 97 are supported with the Crossover plug in if thats what you meant?
Where’s the beef?
Mandrake and RedHat (latest versions) are as easy to instal and have better support as in forums and RPM’s.
I see no value that Lindows has given except media attention that Linux would have got any way. Download any big distro and you will an as good as distro…
If I…. Would do a distro a I wouldn’t just do things as Linwdows have done.
Note: I have nothing against Lindows just don’t see any market for it.
Why use Lindows when you can have the real thing? All I see is poorly implemented clones of Microsoft and SCO software.
Why do alot of KDE-based distro’s leave the GTK themes default? The default GTK themes are EXTREMELY ugly. I mean there’s a Geramik engine/theme that will blend GTK apps with KDE apps, people won’t be able to tell the difference.
Redhat and Mandrake are the only two distro’s I’ve seen that get this right.
When ever Lindows comes up, everyone starts asking why they should bother with it when Red Hat, SuSe, Mandrake, Debian, Gentoo, Slackware, mydistro, works for them. The fact is that Lindows is NOT targeted at Linux enthusiasts.
Lindows is a for profit endeavour that is targeted at typical Windows home users such as Mom and Dad and Grandma. Lindows tries to utilize Linux and its supporting software to provide a very simple and easy to use system to meet their needs at a greatly reduced cost. Part of the simplicity and ease of use lies in its similaroty to Windows which, Mom and Dad have likely encountered before.
Of course you aren’t going to pay for a dumbed down OS when you can have your favorite for free. So, Lindows is not for you. But, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a market for Lindows. That’s why.
Having said all that, I must also say that KDE sure looks sexy, even if it has the Lindows logo superimposed all over it.
Looking for beef in Lindows is like looking for scruples at SCO – well possibly not quite that difficult… Remember Lindows 4 is designed to reduce the wear and tear on your mouse and free up more time for watching TV. So how much more meat than that does one realy need?
If you insert your Office 200 CD in LindowsOS, it will install via the Lindows version of Wine. I can’t speak to whether or not Wine is installed in v4 as I haven’t seen it yet, but this is true for v3.
This directly from Lindows.com engineers.
Lindows is looking good, as ever. They’ve done far better than I would have originally given them credit for. It would be nice if they help polish up the apps, though. Unless MS decides to do a linux port, which is unlikely, MS office on Linux isn’t going to cut. Working on openOffice or any of the other native office suites will be better in the long run, just as hacking away on Mozilla has proven to be much more profitable that tweaking IE On wine.
If you insert your Office 2000 CD in LindowsOS, it will open a browser window straight to a lindows web page that does nothing but bitch at you for inserting a cd/dvd that looks like you are attempting to install windows programs when lindows isnt windows. It then bitches some more and tells you to subscribe to click n run and install software that way. When I asked about how to disable this, I didnt get much of a response and IT DOES THIS EVERY TIME YOU INSERT AN AUTORUN ENABLED CD OR DVD, which is a #%@$ing lot of them!!!! This is THE most annoying part of lindows, and is true for v3.
This is directly from an EX Lindows.com user
Lindows is a for profit endeavour that is targeted at typical Windows home users such as Mom and Dad and Grandma. Lindows tries to utilize Linux and its supporting software to provide a very simple and easy to use system to meet their needs at a greatly reduced cost. Part of the simplicity and ease of use lies in its similaroty to Windows which, Mom and Dad have likely encountered before.
A quick visit to walmart.com for Mom, Dad, and Grandma shows that a cheap Lindows box can be had for about $199 while an XP box will set then back $499 – a big difference to be sure. Next Mom, Dad and Grandma realize that the Lindows box lacks a display so a quick look around Walmart online and bingo a cheap 14” flat-panel display is had for $200. The grand total $400 – a whopping $100 saved thanks to Lindows. So Mom, Dad, and Grandma are all very happy with the money they saved and the free included software looks great! Once at home they quickly realize that the system lacks some pretty important stuff like a modem – this little fact means that half the free software is useless
Useless software:
Netscape email with support for collecting
AOL email Netscape 7.0 browser – with added pop-up ad blocking and tabbed browsing
Netscape News reader
Netscape HTML composer to create your own Web pages
RealPlayer 8.0 for streaming audio and video over the Internet
Yahoo! instant messaging
LindowsOS update wizard also includes a free junior membership to the Click-N-Run
Warehouse Web site that features even more applications
But that’s ok cause they can still burn their favorite CD’s with the included
software, right? Wrong cause the system lacks a CDRW!
Hmm, so what’s left… a word processor, and a simple paint program? Great, now they can start saving photos of the kids… well not on the included drive as it’s only 10 gigs – not a lot of space once you install the OS and all the great free software! Ok so you can save your work to floppy, nope it doesn’t have one of those either.
So I ask you is Lindows really such a great alternative to XPfor home users?
>Wrong cause the system lacks a CDRW!
Last time i checked (today) k3b was included with the standard install. The rest of your comment is as useless as the above. Stop trolling!
This distro and lycoris have the same concept to make it easier which is a good thing. But I agree mandrake, suse and libranet are user friendly too. But if the user thinks it is easier for them more power to them.
I am not likely to ever be a LindowsOS user, as I am happy with my distro, but your comparison is not fair. That $499 machine is going to need a monitor as well, and if you want the total package for CDRW and LINmodem go to here for $260:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.as…
Even with Click’N’Run this will be cheaper than MS, and Click’N’Run for software instalation looks easier than anything MS has divised thus far. This is providing low cost computing for those that want to abandon MS and are not tech savy enough for Gentoo.
Mandrake nor Redhat are as simple or quick to install. I have used all 3. I like having a sleek system installed and it allowing me to choose every single app. I want to install afterwards. That’s where CNR comes in. I’ve used apt-get but hey I can’t have it install programs back to back without intervention from me like CNR. If you like bloat then Mandrake it is.
To answer others on the Office issues. I know that with Lindows version of wine Office 2000 installs.
It took me about five times to figure out that I had to scroll WAY DOWN past the same crap on every page to get to the news post. I’d opened five new browser windows and they all looked the same.
Sure, I finally figured it out, but the design is stupid. Don’t put your “home page” on every page of your site. Put news links of to either side on subsequent pages and get the article title somewhere to the top of the page so the person browsing knows they’ve made it somewhere different.
Jeezus! *end of rant*
Vic
Even at v4.0, LindowsOS still doesn’t offer anything compelling over Mandrake past the ClickNrun warehouse. And even that will be gone once somebody comes out with a decent apt-get frontend. Hint to Michael Robertson: if you wanna capture the hearts, minds, and wallets of the masses, create something BETTER than the best OS out there!
if they continue to abandon compatiblity to current Windows APIs, they should begin to integrate .NET into their distro. Because it looks like .NET is the next Windows API (maybe in Longhorn?).
Judging from text/bugs in the screenshots it isn’t based on 3.1.1 or even 3.1.0.
Yeah, it looks like KDE 3.0.X. LindowsOS 3.0 uses KDE 3.0.1.
Mom gets a $199 Walmart Microtel..hooks it up to a 2nd hand 17″ monitor (<$50) formats the harddrive and installs a pirated copy of XP Pro.
I think Michael Robertson hopes to get Lindows bought out like he did with MP3.com and make another quick fortune.
Why do you automatically assume Mom is a criminal? If she’s anything like the “Mom users” I know, they can’t even find the power button. How do you think they will get drivers installed? (No, XP does NOT have drivers for every hardware device on earth.) Do you think they will immediately install kazaa and grab office? No. They will use what they have, unless SOMEONE ELSE changes it on them. I do hope they license their software though if they use it.
Been there and done that, too. 🙂 Also, the article have around 10 or 15 lines… Geez! My little baby can do better than that.
Cheers,
DeadFish Man
I can’t see the point in shelling out for Lindows or Libranet when there’s stuff like Knoppix and Morphix out that’ll set your Desktop up nicely and then let you take control and apt-get to your heart’s content.
…but Mom’s son can do that!
MS Windows is dominating the desktop market because of its ease of use, but also because it’s quite easy to pirate and to get pirated software on it. I’m sure other OSes would have a better chance/be more popular if it wasn’t that easy to pirate stuff on Windows. My 2¢.
I bet that all the negative comments here about Lindows are coming from people who have never even tried it. I can say this because of all the ignorant comments being made about it from these same people. They obviously have never used it.
I use LindowsOS everyday, and it’s hands down the easiest Linux to install and use, and I tried them all. Until Lindows, I would have never recommended Linux to my non-technical friends, but now I do all the time. Lindows has done so many nice things to add polish to the entire experience.
My favorite thing about Lindows…they completely ignore and avoid all the little voices from the geeks who think they make a difference with their anti-lindows rants. While these no-life geeks rant here, Lindows is out selling more and more computers running Linux.
More power to them I say!
Mark
I am a big Lindows fan. Here are a couple more screen shots from their 4.0 beta.
http://info.lindows.com/40.jpg
http://info.lindows.com/40b.jpg
Sammi
When Lindows ships with at least the Dev tools I may buy it but until then SuSE is my pride and joy.