I don't actually know which forum I should place this question. Knowing pretty well myself being a complete rookie to the Linux operating system, I guess this is where I might be receving some forgiving replies.

For the last 10 hours, I have been trying to select one brand of Linux to run on my PC. My rig is a AMD system, with an AthlonXP 2200+ CPU, ASUS A7V8X-X motherboard, a Maxtor IDE 7,200rpm 40GB harddisk and a GeForce FX 5900XT video card. There is a quite legacy PCI SoundBlaster Live! as well.

Okay, I tried Mandrake 9 and it told me the X-Windows won't go because the installation fails to recognise my video card. Then I gave up. Next I tried Debian, same problem. By the way, Debian is no easy-to-install OS as compared to Mandrake 9, though Mandrake 9 fails to work.

Luck comes when I tried Xandros Desktop OS. I know nothing about all 3 Linux brand actually. My ex-colleague just send me 3 sets of disc. The Mandrake 9 set contains actually 2 CDs. Xandros is good. I clicked only 5 times and here I am. Now I am using the Opera browser which I love mostly, to write you this.

Anyone of you would be kind enough to tell me a bit more about this extra-easy-install Linux OS? All I know about it is that it is called "Xandros Desktop OS" as it is printed on the disc. I would like to know if it stems from some other old brands or what.

Another thing I would like to get it sorted is the sound. Right now, I have no sound. Should I use the sound card drivers supplied by Creative in a CD? Would I screw up the entire OS if I proceed with that?

P.S. This OS is so fast, same Cable connection but everything loads faster than I was in Windows 98, XP and 2000. Is it because of the Opera Browser or Xnadros OS is faster ?

Also, is Xnadros faster than Debian, RedHat and the others?

Here ,
here,
also here, check those out and also this.
Have fun and check 'em out.

From the console, what is the command to check the version of Xandors I am using?

This works on my wife's Xandros box:

Thank you. Mine is ver 3.0.1 Open Circulation Edition.

I find installing software or anything downloaded from the internet less easy than Windows.

I can't install Battlefield 1942 from CDs.

I downloaded Linux version of the Opera Browser, but I have absolutely no idea how to proceed with the its installation.

Any clue(s)?

I got this from a Ubuntu forum:

dpkg --install file.deb

--or--

dpkg -i file.deb.


For complete guide for the dpkg command:

man dpkg

Now, this is me:

This is, of course, assuming you downloaded the Opera .deb version for Xandros.
As for installing software in general... it's a slightly different model from Windows. Sure, you can go to a website and download a .deb or a .rpm or a .tar.gz, unpack it yourself and install it, but that's not the way it is for most software. You do that for Opera, but if you want just about anything else, you use Synaptic Package Manager, which will draw from thousands of programs in online "repositories." The list of these repositories is in a file (/etc/apt/sources.list).

If you don't think you have a big enough selection of software, add repositories to your sources.list. Here's a list of all the repositories out there. You may want to just start with Xandros' default sources.list, though.

In terms of how Xandros differs from other distros... It's actually Debian-based (but with an easier install process). Debian distributions are known for their ease of installation for software (either via apt-get and the command-line or via Synaptic Package Manager). Hope that helps.

It helps a real great deal. Thanks a million. I am pretty amazed by the ease of installation and the ease of use of the Xandros Desktop OS ver 3.0.1. Impressions never yeild without comparisions. Indeed, having said that; I have actually done a few more installations They include Debian itself, Mandrake 9, the Chinese made Thiz ver 6.0 and the admirable Ubuntu. However, both Ubuntu and Thiz are not Internet friendly. What happened was that after the installation, I was unable to access the Internet using the default browser. When playing around with Windows, I can figure out where to amend the setting. I am lost in Ubuntu and Thiz. I don't know how to check if the installation has detected the LAN interface and where to do the setting and get them right.

Ubuntu has an equally nice looking desktop interface. But Xandros is much user-friendly. After the installation is done, the internet connection is there already. As to software installation, they have to be done via the "Package" method, which I guess is sort of a standard across all Linux distros.

But something I would like to clarify is the cost. I am doing evaluations of different distros about their ease of installation and use. But I am more concerned about the licensing fees. Looks likefree Linux is now history. Almost all Linux OSes are not free. Xandros Deluxe is just a little cheaper than Windows XP Professional. Are there any distros out there cost only half that of Windows XP Professional?

Later I may recommend to management to replace a small department's Windows PC with Linux PC. I must be able to justify by cost. Though ease of use and compatability would be an issue initially, but if management see for themselves that a Liniux PC is capable of being a desktop and at the same time, a Fax server, E-mail server and Web-server I am sure they will be convinced.

I, too, was at first confused by people referring to Ubuntu as "user-friendly." Eventually, I figured out "user-friendly" meant well-documented and well-supported. Just about any question you could have about setting up Ubuntu is answered in the Ubuntu Guide. The community in the Ubuntu forums is unparalleled for its acceptance, general pleasantness, and extreme helpfulness. There's a lot of stuff you have to do from the command-line, but the documentation is very thorough, and it ends up just being some cutting and pasting of text, really.

What do you mean "the 'Package' method"? Are you referring to Synaptic Package Manager? Because I wouldn't say that things have to be done via Synaptic. I'd say you get the privilege of using Synaptic. Synaptic is a wonderful and easy way to install a lot of software at once.

There are a lot of free distros out there. Mepis is a wonderful Debian-based distro that's free. Even if you choose to buy Mepis, it's only about $10 US. I would argue that, in many ways, Mepis is even more user-friendly than Xandros, and it's totally point-and-click, even for adding extra repositories.

Maybe, I have used the wrong words. When I say "Package", actually I mean a collection of "software". Under Windows environment, "software" includes downloaded .exe files, games come in CD / DVD form, other licensed software.

I have found the way that software is installed being entirely different. For instance, I have downloaded Opera browser for Linux. It is, if I still remember it correctly, a .bin file. When I double-clicked it nothing happens!!

I am going to try out SuSE Linux 9. I heard that it comes with a YaST interface which facilitates software management.

YaST isn't going to make Opera any easier--you'll still have to download Opera from Opera's website and unpack it and install it yourself. Most distros have some kind of GUI installer.

Here are some shots of YaST:

http://shots.osdir.com/slideshows/sl...se=145&slide=3

Here are some shots of Synaptic Package Manager:

http://www.nongnu.org/synaptic/action.html