Jinina, Here is another article that Fred Langa wrote that does mention the hardware that was used in the test. So, I hate to say it, but your assumption was wrong. However, it is bad experiences by end users, or people new to Linux, like the one that Mr. Langa has written about that truly paints a bad picture of the open source world. It is companies that are trying to profit off open source that are only in it for the money and don't care about supporting their clients are the real problem here. Xandros just appears to be the latest one to join the money for nothing game. -----> From the article <----- The good news: It's very, very polished. The interface is the most well-thought-out of any I've seen in Linux. It's also especially Windows-user-friendly, with naming conventions that instantly make the Xandros system components and add-ons familiar. The interface is visually nice too, with many available themes or skins; you can even make your system look so much like Windows you'd fool passers-by. <g> Like Lindows, Xandros also makes it very, very easy to update your system with an online function that's analogous to Windows Update: You go to a special web page, an applet sniffs your system, sees if anything needs updating, and if so, will download and install the updates for you. Also like Lindows, you can use the same facility to add new software to your system, effortlessly. But I couldn't get Xandros to work with my sound card at all, despite the fact that I was testing it on a new system with an utterly standard Intel motherboard with built-in Intel sound. This is not some weird, off-brand system; the lack of sound support for a totally mainstream Intel board is incomprehensible to me. After doing a little reading and troubleshooting, I decided to try ALSA, the Advanced Linux Sound Architecture, which is supposed to provide more or less standardized sound support for Linux, and to get around the need for a million different sound drivers. Oddly, I could get that to work--- but only until a reboot. Then the sound went away again, and nothing I could do (including reinstalling ALSA) would get it to work again. I reinstalled the whole OS, from scratch--- four times. I poked. I prodded. Nothing helped. So I contacted tech support. They asked for some log files and diagnostics. I sent them. Tech support then had me edit the Linux equivalent of some INI files, but that made things worse--- the system then lost all graphics modes. I could login only in text mode; otherwise, the system was unusable. I told tech support, and asked them what I should do next: They said to put things back the way they were. Well, gee, thanks. It's been about a week now, and I'm beginning to think that the Xandros folks simply have no clue what to do or why their distribution fails on a totally mainstream system. In any case, they're not answering my email. In all, the whole experience--- mysterious, intermittent software problems, especially with sound--- reminded me of Win95, or maybe the very earliest days of Win98. Every time I say this, I get angry mail from Linux fans telling me it's not true, but it *is* true: Linux is a fine system with a bright future, but its hardware support is still years and years behind Windows. (BTW, the same sound system that Xandros can't get to work behaves perfectly under XP.) If--- *if*--- Linux can run with your hardware, you truly can use it as a full-time OS; and in that regard, Xandros looks like a top contender for full-time use. But even having an utterly mainstream motherboard, cpu and sound system is no guarantee that Linux will work for you. Hardware support in Linux is still much more of a roll of the dice than it should be. -----> End of Article <----- Steve Dawes Phone: (403) 268-5527 Email: SDawes at calgary.ca NOTICE:: This communication is intended ONLY for the use of the person or entity named above and may contain information that is confidential or legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient named above or a person responsible for delivering messages or communications to the intended recipient, YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that any use, distribution, or copying of this communication or any of the information contained in it is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by telephone and then destroy or delete this communication, or return it to us by mail if requested by us. The City of Calgary thanks you for your attention and cooperation.
