Review: Xandros 4.1 a viable Windows alternative

With the launch of Windows Vista, many companies are evaluating their upgrade options for existing PCs. Vista will run on most PCs manufactured in the last year or two, but will only run well on computers with a good graphics card and lots of RAM. Vista needs 512MB of RAM just to run, and 1 GB to run well.

Xandros wants to be your alternative to Windows Vista. It is a Linux distribution based on the Debian Sarge core, with an enhanced user interface and file manager. It can run on almost any Intel or AMD CPU with a clock of at least 450MHz. It can run in 128MB of RAM, and run well in 256MB. Enabling its new three-dimensional desktop effects requires specific graphics chipsets (which, remarkably, don't include NVidia), but these effects are not exactly a business requirement.

Xandros has gone to great lengths to make this Linux distribution look and feel familiar to Windows users. It has also gone to great lengths to achieve compatibility at many other levels: applications, disk and file formats, utility functions, and network protocols. It can even run many Windows applications, using CodeWeavers CrossOver Linux Standard. A new and welcome capability is the ability to write to NTFS partitions, making Xandros more viable than it has been in a dual-boot scenario with Windows.

Almost everything I tried worked, although not everything worked smoothly. About the only serious incompatibility that I found was in the Xandros VPN client: the only supported VPN protocol is PPTP, and not the more secure L2TP/IPSec. The VPN authentication methods are also limited; I was not able to connect to any of the VPNs to which I have access.

Xandros Professional Desktop 4.1
Cost: $99.99
Availability: Now
Verdict: Xandros is about 90% of the way towards providing a fully-functional alternative to Windows desktops. I can see companies with mixed Windows and Linux networks using it internally, especially for older computers that would not run Windows Vista well.

Posted by Martin Heller on December 11, 2006 11:24 AM

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COMMENTS

In a word,YES! I have been running Xandros Pro for nearly two years,after being turned on to it by a fellow student who knew I was a Microsoft user and having trouble with Linux class.In my laptop,for the first time EVER,everything ran out of the box.

While I use Open Office,I also have Office 2K3 installed and Adobe Acrobat and both are flawless.I have had no trouble with connecting to Microsoft networks,including email,and am even able to be authenticated by the schools Active Directory server.

I can't answer about the Kodak software,as the built in photo software is excellent in Xandros,but I would suggest You buy 1 copy and set up a test machine.I think you'll find that everything "just works".And I don't have to worry about spyware/malware and have NEVER needed the command line in Xandros.And this is from someone who thought "Linux wasn't ready for the business desktop."

Posted by: K.B. at June 26, 2007 11:42 PM

The question is, 90% of what?

As a end user we are a small company, 15 computers, using XP professional, connected through a router and switch. Employees use shared directories. There is a central email computer/server and another computer that interfaces the hi-speed line. We have no software employee so must call in a consultant if we can't solve the problem. We need something stable and 100% compatible / tranparent for Microsoft Outlook which is our key tool. Also the remaining programs in Microsoft Office, paint, kodak camera picture upload / edit software, Adobe, Google, Gmail, Yahoo, Yahoo Mail, geocities, etc.

With the OS loaded over the weekend the employee who sits down at her/his desk on Monday should not be able to notice any difference.

Is this possible?
Again, please clarify what you mean when you say 90%?

Posted by: R Feng at April 24, 2007 02:38 AM