LinuxLinks Review
(12/16/04)
By Steve Emms
Conclusion
There's serious competition for the desktop market. Although riddled with security flaws Windows still remains the most popular desktop operating system. However, if you want a slick integrated graphical interface, combined with the power of Linux, we can heartily recommend Xandros Desktop Version 3 - Deluxe edition. You'll still be able to use the key Windows programs, but also have available the wealth of Linux software available at your fingertips. Version 3 represents a huge upgrade and Xandros deserves credit for assembling the most slick Linux operating system we've ever used. The improvements made to Xandros File Manager and Xandros Networks are also noteworthy, although we'll have to wait a week to see what their online shop will offer.
Only desktop users? Yes, it's true this operating system is primarily directed at the home user, but there's still improvements here that'll benefit everyone including VPN support, and encrypted files. We would only recommend a hardened Linux distribution for a critical system.
Over pruning? We would have liked some key applications to have been installed by default including the hugely popular Firefox, gimp, Skype etc. Hopefully Xandros will provide an update so that the latest Quicktime files can be played in xine.
Final thoughts Xandros Desktop OS version 3 is an excellent Linux distribution for the home user. It comes highly recommended by LinuxLinks.com. It may even challenge Firefox 1.0 as the most significant release of 2004!
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