Michael C. Barnes updates his in-depth review of Linux desktop operating systems. In this exclusive article at DesktopLinux.com, Barnes examines how far the Linux distributions have come over the past year, updating his popular first article and evaluating the current versions of leading Desktop Linux desktop options including Ark Linux, ELX Linux, Lycoris, MEPIS, Vector Linux, Xandros, as well as Live CDs including Puppy Linux and Flonix.
My Linux Desktop Odyssey, 2004
About The Author
Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
Follow me on Twitter @EugeniaLoli
How on earth can you call that an in-depth article? Just skimming through a list of a dozen distros does not make an article in-depth. It’s even more shallow than most other “reviews” I’ve read lately. I can make such a list too.
I think ark is based on redhat not mandrake
if ELX means easy linux? it has been out of action for some time now i guess. Till now it had only one release, it was without GNOME, it had few problems with internet connectivity.
first of all: fogive me my english! me is kraut
hmmm,
this article really disturbs me.
what is the intension to make a desktop look/feel like this really annoying windows xp?
where is the sense behind using an alternative os to copy the behavior of ‘the enemy’?
how about being an alternative to other desktops?
and there are more desktops ot there other than windows.
where is the sense behind running IE6 on linux?
getting rid of tools/progs like this were the cause for switching to linux in my case.
i really cant see one point to run apps like this in linux.
and i think, this hasnt anything to do with ‘personel flavour’.
its just stupid.
and what about the fact that if you install a linux-distro, you are able to do more tasks ‘out of the box’ than a windows-user?
most distros leave you with complete office-suite and so on.
with windows you have the choice of searching for alternatives like openoffice or
paying too much for a ridiculous software calld ‘ms-office’ or
you steal that ridiclous software.
and for enhancing your desktop:
a ‘normal’ pc-user (no geekness inside the person
trying to enhance/personalize his desktop is, when using windows, the same way lost as using linux or macOs or whatever os.
there is really NO advantage for ms.
burning a dvd under windows?
wheres the advantage for the ‘normal’ user?
and so on and so on….
to only advantage may be that you can steal software for thousands of dollars and using it.
not much of a choice, i think.
was this offtopic?
Linux is slowly becoming useable for non-geeks also. In the category of ‘rpm-based distros for non-geek users’ Ares Desktop may be well worth waiting for.
“what is the intension to make a desktop look/feel like this really annoying windows xp?
where is the sense behind using an alternative os to copy the behavior of ‘the enemy’?”
How about the cost of retraining? Many Linux critics argue that Linux will not succeed on the corporate desktop because it looks and behaves too differently and that retraining the personnel and administrators will take a lot of money and time.
Uhm ya having a unique look is nice, but only for geeks and nerd. The average user wants things to Just Work(tm) and to relearn as little as possible.
I don’t understand. If money was not a factor why wouldn’t
you consider Mac OS instead of XP?
>>Uhm ya having a unique look is nice, but only for geeks and >>nerd. The average user wants things to Just Work(tm) and to >>relearn as little as possible.
If you wank something that JUST WORKS you have to choose something else than windows. Or else I wouldn’t have programs that crash continuously (even explorer.exe), tons of spam generated by worms that use stupid vulnerabilities, et so on.
For me just work means that AFTER I have learned how to use it, it does it right and it does it everytime, not only when the bugs in the os allow it…
Any news item that begins by calling Ark Linux one of the “leading Desktop Linux desktop options” automatically loses credibility to me.
I find it even funnier that Lindows wasn’t referenced! Not that it’s a great distro, but it’s certainly a better one than Ark.
As a side note… If anyone’s looking for a great desktop Linux experience, try Lorma! It’s based off Fedora (and is supposed to be 100% Fedora compatible, but I’d consider that about 98% as not every things 100% compatible), is recomiled for i686 processors, and just flies when compared to it’s i386-optimized counterpart.
Plus they include synaptic already setup, so you can quickly begin customizing the install. It’s really quite an impressive distro, and is a nice successor to Jamd (since Jamd’s been discontinued and it’s replacement not released yet, I’d say Lorma takes the crown).
Just a thought…
Oh puh-leez. I love straw-man reviews like this. “Let me see, my premise is that Windows XP is the superior desktop OS. So, what obscure distributions can I put up against it to prove my point?”
wath is the point with ie6 and so on on linux.
a friend girlfriend just begged himt o install linux on her computer. cus she is using linux on his and notice how much better browsing icq and such is
.
ofcourse almost all those tools are avalible for windows ass well but she dosent know that and why tell
Linux apps are better on Linux, I like my whole desktop to work smooth.
Seamless computing is wonderful, I wish Bill would catch onto his own slogan.
“MEPIS Linux installs with KDE as the standard desktop. However, users can choose ICEWM. I tested MEPIS Linux to see if I could get it to run in 64 MB with ICEWM. I got a message stating that 108 MB of RAM is required.”
must be a mepis issue,cos icewm is known for running
on precisely those kinds of low ram.
Yes, I wish Windows XP could provide half the experience of Mandrake Linux 10.0 Community Edition. I have never used a more solid, well tested, operating system in my entire life. AND IT’S FREE!
I agree, if cost is not a factor than, go with Mac OS X. Mac Oses in my opinion are alot more intuitive than any offering available on almost any other platform.
People site alot of reasons why they use XP, but intuitiveness is never one of the top reasons.
In his article, Barnes has a picture of his desktop with ELX BizDesk 4.0 loaded on. Where on earth did that come from? The link to the company website doesn’t work.
I tried BizDesk 1.0 and liked it but couldn’t get my Zip drive to work on it, so I had to switch to something else.
I contacted the author of the review, who told me that ELX is apparently still around. He got his copy of BizDesk 4.0 directly from them. They are concentrating right now on business in India, but they do apparently plan to update their website at some point.