It would be cool if some one created a distro with the core and the XPDE wm. Just put in the cd, install linux, have a linux core desktop that looks like windows. Now you people who hate windows will hate this but newbies and windows useres who want to try something newer and cheaper would by this.

The XPDE people will have to hurry up on the wm to make it more un-buggy and you know.

I would use that instead of windows. The new version of Mozilla Firefox is a lot better. Thunderbird is also pretty good. They wouls also have to make a good word proccesing suite. Open office is to big and is a little harder to use.

-Colin Stuart

How so? I'm almost completely new to Linux (Fedora and Ubuntu) and have had no problems with OpenOffice. Perhaps you could try the Windows version of it so you can use it in a more familiar environment, then move onto it in Linux.

Like anything, openoffice.org has to be learnt. If you are used to word, then you should have no problem using openoffice. There is a new version (2.0) coming out soon and that has made a lot of improvements to the 1.x release.

I can't imagine a window manager being more like windoze than KDE. How much more "familiar" do you want?

How is OpenOffice hard to use?

have you seen the XPDE screenshots?? they are very windows-like...

http://www.xpde.com/shots.php

http://www.xpde.com/faq.php#3

=)

Why would you go to the trouble of leaving that hag just to marry her twin sister?

For someone called "Win32Sux" you certainly seem to like windows. Sure XPDE might look a bit like windows but:
1. It's not very good
2. Why not learn a BETTER way of doing things? What makes you think that, while newbies can be familiar with XPDE, that they won't be better off learning a different way of doing things? When I left windows (all those years ago!) I was bowled over by how much simpler blackbox was than the big ugly behemoth windows way of doing a GUI.

I said it should have XPDE is so linux newbies or windows users who want to try linux can be more familiar with it. I new to press the K button because thats was where the start button whoud be. Some newbies takes a while for them to figure it out. XDPE=windows, Gnome=mac os(but better).
Once you make the distro, XPDE and Linux people will make linux better, faster and make it more popular=linux on more windows/mac desktops.

Now if you like KDE/Gnome fine, I never said you had to use it, it's just for the windows users.

-Colin

all i was saying was that the window manager in question looks a lot like XP - and that can be a very good thing for a lot of linux newcomers whether you like it or not... i'm not sure where you got the idea that i "seem to like windows" - I DON'T - but the reality is that most desktop windows users would have a much smoother linux migration if the gui environment they get is at least familiar...

not everybody wants to "learn a better way of doing things" - and what's better for you isn't necessarily better for someone else... most windows users just need to get their work done - period... they don't care about which window manager is lighter or has the least dependancies or whatever - not everyone is a geek like you... most windows users (not admins) don't know squat about computers at the technical level... so if someone wants to help a good amount of windows people make the switch to linux, providing a familiar work environment isn't a bad idea...

BTW, in most corporate situations moving windows users to something like blackbox isn't even an option...

Then surely they'd stick to windows? If you want a distro that looks and feels like windows then why not go ahead and make one? There are kits around to build your own live distro, and there's always the Linux From Scratch project which you could adapt to suit your needs. Really though, KDE (though I don't like it) is similar enough to windows that even my mother (who is one of those people who just wants to get her work done) knew where to click to find programs. But if you're a glutton for punishment then make your system look like windows.

exactly!!! and they do... most of the big reasons for switching to linux desktops in the corporate sector lie with the IT and Accounting departments - not the users... like i said, those users just need to get their work done, but it's up to the guys in IT and Accounting (and their bosses) to determine what software will be used on their desktops... and one of the main reasons they stick with windows on the desktop is because it's what the users are familiar with... and yes, there's even cases when they stick to it because it's also the only thing the IT department is familiar with, although that's another issue (and makes me wanna vomit)...

look, you can't expect linux to be the miracle cure for everyone's problems... believe it or not, some people are actually better-off with with windows... i mean, let's be realistic, look at the amount and types of applications currently available for windows (for example)!!!

now, of course there's several reasons why corporations and home users would want to migrate to linux (and other FOSS) on the desktop currently... for example, home users might appreciate the high level of customizability of the desktop environments (kde, gnome, etc.), while corporate IT deparmtments might appreciate the low maintenance required by gnu/linux, and Accounting departments might like the potential low TCO involved in gnu/linux desktop migration...

but in the end, none of it will matter to IT, Accounting, or the CEO if the 20,000 desktop users in the company wouldn't even know how to find a file in the "A:" drive, for example...