Xandros Desktop OS is a GNU/Linux distribution that attempts to work right out of the box, as well as offer completely unrivalled compatibility with Microsoft Windows. Xandros has bundled a lot of software in with the Open Circulation Edition that we are reviewing. From a four step install to easy CD burning to one-click application installs, Xandros has proven that it, in many ways, is a desktop vastly superior to every other Linux distribution this reviewer has ever used. Next time my grandparents get a new computer, Windows will not be on it.

Xandros Desktop Open Circulation Edition, the version we are reviewing at Mad Penguin, is somewhat different from the regular Xandros Desktop. The Open Circulation Edition is free to copy and distribute as you like, but is strictly for non-commercial use. CD burning is limited to the minimum speed of your burner which, if you are in a hurry, is a really painful lock. There are ads installed on the Opera web browser and e-mail client as well, which isn't really a problem when you can easily install other browsers. One of the major downsides to compatibilty, however, is that the open version of Xandros does not contain CodeWeaver's CrossOver Office (reviewed by me here). This means that Microsoft Windows programs (and plugins) will not work. The downfalls of working with the free edition... perhaps Xandros will give Mad Penguin a copy of the standard version to review next time they release an upgrade, so we can get a true idea of how good their desktop is.

The Install

Xandros Open Circulation Edition is free to download via Bit-Torrent. If you don't have Bit-Torrent and wish to use the web, for a $10 charge to cover bandwidth you can download it from their HTTP servers. It is a mere one CD, so it won't tax your supply of blanks and cause endless clutter on your shelves as some distros do (before the flames come in, I love Debian, and I use Debian unstable whenever I'm not off reviewing some distribution or another). Having only one CD also means that Xandros doesn't make much of a dent in your hard drive - a complete install is under 1.5GB.

Booting to the Xandros CD caused a black screen with a "Xandros" logo fading slowly in on the bottom. "Press Shift for Troubleshooting Options" appeared on the top left. That faded, and Xandros booted into a beautiful graphical installer. Perhaps it seems to you that I'm being overly verbose, explaining these simple features that really don't make much of a difference, but the key here is precisely that - how simple it was. Xandros is aimed at the average user, and not having to deal with anything but a logo is quite pleasing (though it is worth it to note they eventually showed a few steps of the boot process, keeping the logo on the screen and showing concise, non-technical as posslible terms).

The install was very simple, with Xandros doing the majority of the work and me sitting back to enjoy the ride. Once again aimed at end users, the express install asks a minimal amount of questions. You must enter a root password, and at this screen are also given the option of setting your computer name (which defaults to a random string). The next step is adding a regular user account. This step is not required, but a notice is posted that it is highly recommended to not run as the root account. A final warning is given that all data on the shown drive will be wiped out (in my case, it correctly chose the empty ext2 partition I set aside for it), and the you are shown a review of the options you are about to install with. Simply click "Finish" and Xandros will install with standard desktop packages.

When choosing the custom install, nothing gets harder. It does get more complex, which could throw off many regular users, which is why an express install is provided. The first step of a custom install is package selection. You are given four options: minimal (655MB), standard (980MB), full (1156MB), and custom (starting at 613MB). You can start with any of the base installs (minimal, standard, or full) and change the packages as well, so you don't have to build your system from scratch when selecting custom. Package selection is done in an easy to navigate, categorized list.

The second step is disk partitioning. Xandros can use free space if you have any available, format another partition and install on it, or let the user decide. Should you choose to manage the disks manually, a simple graphical tool is provided for the job. At this point you also have the option of installing a boot loader. Clicking next brings you to the network configuration screen, where your card (most likely) has been configured automatically and is set to dhcp. All you have to do is hit next, unless you want to change it, which you are given the option to do. User management is a bit more complex than in express mode as well, given that in custom mode you are able to add an indefinite amount of users instead of just being prompted for the one. The install now picks up at the summary, and everything else is history.

The Desktop

After rebooting, I was greeted by a graphical login screen which loaded the K Desktop Environment. A few simple configuration questions were asked (the regular KDE questions, I might add), and the install was complete. My sound worked, my video worked, my webcam worked, and my scanner worked. Four key components that some other distributions have had problems with in the past, and Xandros configured them all properly without even bothering me about it. I'll admit, the default desktop in Xandros took me by surprise. It was bland. Then, I remembered the goal to be (they say compatible with, I say like, at least in this case) Windows. It does that fairly well. The shutdown buttons are similar to the Windows counterparts, the background color is the same, the clock looks the same, the volume controls are in the same spot, and the "Launch" menu looks markedly similar.

Xandros Networks is a huge benefit of using Xandros. While being similar to some other package management front-ends, it also offers many things that they don't. One click installs are the norm with Xandros Networks, and the only time that the user is bothered is with the essential questions (for example, asking me to set a password when I install mysql-server). Packages are separated into intuitive categories, allowing desktop users to install any program they need to do whatever they want (even if they don't know the name of the program, they can just go to the category and pick one). Once you click on a package, a detailed description is given in the right window. From that point, it is a simple click of "Install Now" and your part is mostly done. If you are not running in Administrator Mode (superuser mode) and a program requires root access to install, you will be prompted.

After making one of the hardest parts of using Linux (package management) so simple anyone can do it, Xandros tackled the next problem facing users: Keeping up to date and secure. You are able to perform a system-wide upgrade by clicking a single button, or by upgrading the packages individually. There is also a "Security" section on the menu which brings up all the current security holes known for your system. Being used to administering Windows boxes, I thought this would be an excellent place to start, but I was wrong - there were no updates available, as there were no security holes found in any of the current packages. Show that to any Windows user, and they will be very impressed.

Any "Aunt Tillie" distribution requires a certain base feature set, and it requires that this feature set works well, works quickly, and plays nice together. Generally these tools cover the following areas: web browsing, word processing, e-mail, instant messaging, and some entertainment. Xandros offers most of this with the standard desktop install, and anything you don't have but want can be downloaded easily from Xandros Networks - but lets face it, as has been proven in Windows, most regular users just use the default applications. Xandros includes Opera to handle both e-mail and web browsing, with Open Office there to cover the word processing section. Kopete provides instant messaging solutions, and there is a fairly thorough selection of games for entertainment (nothing fancy, of course, but neither is the default Windows entertainment pack).

Opera itself is a fine browser. It is ten times better than IE at the very least, and handles mail in a way that I think is very useful when coupled with browsing (uses new tabs for the mail windows, as if you were viewing web pages). When I first middle clicked on a link, Opera gave me the option of configuring what I wanted the middle click button to do, which is also nice for ease of use. The only problem I can find here is that a regular Windows user would be absolutely horrified. So many weird buttons on the screen, with no idea what they do (mostly because Opera handles things that IE won't, and the user is not used to such functionality). I think Mozilla Firefox would have been a much better choice to be included, with Opera being a little too advanced for the job. Opera also has ads in it, by default, but that is only in their Open Circulation version - it serves their purposes, as people will see "Upgrade Xandros to get rid of the ads" instead of "Upgrade Opera to get rid of the ads."

The games suite includes some programs similar to the standard kit in MS Windows with Minesweeper and Solitaire, as well as having some others that are fairly popular but don't come with Windows (Mahjongg, Backgammon, and Asteroids to name a few). Kopete handles almost any instant messaging protocol you could want to use, so you don't have to worry about getting eighteen different clients to be able to see all your friends. While I may not agree completely with the Opera choice, Xandros Desktop seems to be complete with a fully functional standard application suite.

Multimedia issues with Linux in general are, generally, not issues in Xandros. You can double click on any video file in the Xandros File Manager and it will open for you and begin playing. This is what Windows people are used to, and this is what Xandros provides. Sound files are also played automatically when double clicked. While the Open Circulation Edition of Xandros cannot contain certain codecs to start, they are easily downloadable via Xandros Networks.

Xandros File Manager

This has to be one of the most impressive parts of Xandros I have seen yet. It mimicks Explorer in many ways, so it is very easy to use if coming from a Windows platform. XFM (Xandros File Manager) was created from scratch to solve the problem of having no tightly-integrated Explorer-like file managers available for the migration to Linux. Started by Corel in the mid-90s, the Xandros team took over development of the XFM. This piece of code was not yet under the GPL, though, as you can clearly see, it is now. XFM was a clear step up from the competitors, providing tight integration with the Linux OS (as opposed to other file managers that were written to be cross-platform among many unices).

When you first look at XFM, you will see that all of your storage devices and partitions have been placed as top-level devices (along with the file system) and are mounted as necessary. When I attached a USB digital camera, the device appeared automatically in XFM without me having to do any work whatsoever. In addition to the easy to use storage devices, there are also "links" to Windows Networks, Printers, and NFS Networks. You'll also find that "My Documents" and related folders have been placed into your home directory. While I never used these folders in Windows, being that they were on the same drive as my OS install, they are useful for people who aren't as aware of what is going on inside their file system.

My home network consists of two Windows boxes plus my computer, which never stays on one OS long enough to be called an $osname box (unless you count "Unices" as a good enough name). These two Windows boxes are used by my grandparents and my cousins respectively (I'm living with my grandparents while attending university). The one printer in our house is, of course, attached to a Windows box. This was no problem for Xandros, which added my printer using a very Windows-like wizard. I would go so far as to say that to the user, they are identical (yes, they differ a SMALL amount in appearance, but this makes no difference to the user, who won't even notice). The only identifiable difference is the option for choosing other kinds of printers, such as those connected to UNIX machines (or "other"). As far as file sharing goes, it was a breeze. Using the XFM, I was able to add a Windows share just like I would on Windows. The difference? It was easier. Thats right, easier. Xandros exchanged the permissions tables available on Windows to a simple "Share is Read Only" checkbox with the option for adding a password to access the share. Both the print and file sharing worked perfectly with no extra configuration required.

XFM has a very powerful plugin system, and there are many ways they take advantage of that fact, extending usability from other file managers to fit. In XFM, double clicking on an image will result in viewing the image inside the file manager - a big step up from Windows' idea of "Launch a new window to view this image" in my opinion. To open the image in another program, a simple right click and the "Open With" sub-menu will show you the other options, as well as give you the ability to enter your own program to open it with. Single-clicking on any file results in a display of information about the file on the left side of the main window (not the file tree). If the file is an image, a preview of the image will be shown below the file information. XFM also has the option to view thumbnails of files instead of just file names. The Xandros team plans to write many more plugins for XFM in the future, and for those who want something now, don't worry as if you buy Xandros they will be available to you via Xandros Networks for free once they are released.

One of the touted abilities of the XFM is the built-in CD burning. From the release of XP, Microsoft has included built-in CD burning software with Windows, and not having easy-to-use, integrated burning was a hinderance to the acceptance of Linux on the desktop. XFM offers simple, yet powerful, burning software that is seamlessly integrated with their file manager. The Open Circulation Edition is limited to 4x burning speeds, as I mentioned, and this was painfully slow to burn with. However, if I was going to be using Xandros as my main desktop, I would buy a copy anyway to show my support.

Using the burning software was as easy as I can comprehend it ever getting (assuming the current human interface devices). Click a file, and an option to add to CD project appears on the left menu. Current CD projects are shown as a top level directory on the XFM, and if you don't have any then you can easy add one after clicking on "Add to Project". Browsing the project is just like browsing any other place with XFM, and files can be manipulated in the same fashion as other directories. When it comes time to burn, the default options are usually enough - just click "Ok" and you will have a working CD. For those odd times when this isn't enough, Xandros also provides more advanced options under different tabs; options that mom and pop users don't care about and quite likely won't even notice.

Conclusion

Xandros Open Circulation Edition is a huge improvement over any distribution I have used previously in the areas of ease of use, Windows integration, and user-friendliness. The Xandros team, it seems, has taken the excellent current open source projects, put them together, and then filled in the cracks. Key areas that are missing from other distributions, such as built in CD burning and native double-click media playing support. The Xandros File Manager is unbeatable - it makes me envious to not have it on the other distributions I use. I am confident that virtually any user, given a short ten-minute introduction if they are completely clueless about Linux, could adopt this desktop with little trouble. Xandros Networks allows any user to keep up to date, install new software, and even purchase/install proprietary products.

I must concede, though, that in with all the great things about Xandros comes a few simple downsides. This isn't the fault of the Xandros team, but more simply a fact of life. Many people won't like the changes Xandros makes to your filesystem and configuration; others will dislike the (fairly minimal) speed loss that comes with having so many available features; others yet will say that Xandros is too commercial and goes against Free Software. For people planning to complain about things like this, I must ask that you keep your comments to yourself - this desktop isn't for you, and there is no need for you to explain why it isn't for you. Xandros is an excellent desktop system, but it is by no means for everyone, and many power-users and free software advocates will not feel at home. For the rest of you, the ones who only care about results, I have yet to find a better solution to suggest than Xandros.

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This document was written by Preston St. Pierre and may be reproduced under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike.