Linux desktop test drive

Since my reawakening to the Macintosh platform, I have primarily been using an Apple PowerBook running OS X, and I’ve been really happy with it. But the CTO in me doesn’t like the fact that using OS X creates vendor lock-in on the hardware side. Granted, complaining about being locked into PowerBook G4 hardware is like whining about being forced to drive a Porsche, but it’s still lock-in. Although I’m not giving up my PowerBook or OS X any time soon, I decided that it was prudent to snap out of my Mac giddiness and check out other desktop OS alternatives — it is, after all, my job to stay on top of these things. With Longhorn still a long way away, there wasn’t much to consider from Microsoft. I had been hearing some noise about Sun’s Linux-based Java Desktop System and about IBM’s target to have 40,000 Linux desktops within its enterprise by year-end, so the Linux desktop seemed like the logical place to start.

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As I began to think about the Linux desktop again, I happened to read about the Xandros Desktop OS Business Edition, a desktop Linux product with an enterprise focus, specifically in its integration with Windows environments. I had never used the Xandros distribution before, so I took it for a spin late one afternoon. I decided that if the software installed easily and I was able to join our Windows domain, easily connect to a printer, print a relatively complex document, and burn a CD, the Xandros OS would pass my “good enough” test. If the Xandros Desktop OS Business Edition was a bellwether for the Linux desktop, I needed to pay closer attention. In the end, I was pleasantly surprised.

It went like this: I opened the box, pushed the manual aside, stuck the Xandros install CD in a brand new HP d530 desktop, and powered the machine on. The installation proceeded flawlessly while I answered e-mail and made phone calls. I created the password for an administrator account, set the clock, and configured the mouse (all easy), but other than that, I hardly had to pay attention at all.

Once the base install was done, I authenticated into our Windows domain. I quickly added a network printer, and a driver for my old LaserJet 5Si was readily available. Believe it or not, setting up a printer on a Windows network in the Xandros environment was substantially easier than the same task in OS X. (That’s right, easier than a Mac!) I printed a few complex Web pages with no problems. I burned a data CD — it was flawless.

I decided to test the capabilities of CodeWeavers’ CrossOver Office software included with Xandros. CrossOver Office allows users to run key Windows programs under Linux. I tried to install Microsoft Project 2002 (not officially supported by CrossOver Office) just to see what would happen, and it almost ran, but got stuck in an endless loop of errors as it repeatedly tried to start Microsoft Project in Safe Mode. But Internet Explorer 5 installed flawlessly and was surprisingly stable, except for one random crash.

My leap back into the Linux desktop with Xandros was hardly an exhaustive test, but the functionality was compelling enough for me to call my IT group into my office to check it out. Frankly, it had been a while since the last time we had been this excited about a desktop OS — at least since we all dove into OS X a few months ago.

Linux on the desktop is not to be ignored.