Lindows removes a lot of choice from the user, and this, I'll agree is not always a bad thing. I've long felt that each distribution should only include one application per task and let the user install others if they need it. This would reduce bloat and help give each distribution a better identity. Lindows has clearly done this. However, while removing some of the duplicate apps, they've once again been "too generous with the scalpel" and removed too many core pieces of the OS. There are simply too few applications. "Killer apps" that have been key to defining Linux's coming of age on the desktop are conspicuously absent. There doesn't appear to be a CD Ripper, an office suite, or a way to watch video files by default. There also doesn't seem to be a screenshot tool, an FTP program, any servers, a compiler, or any development tools. This seems a little too slim in the default offerings - while the target Lindows user may not need any of the latter, certainly the first group is now considered essential.
With LindowsOS, however, Lindows.com is clearly expecting you to become a Click-N-Run member. They've reserved literally hundreds of applications (some free, others not) for the CNR warehouse, and to be frank, without a membership or Linux know-how, Lindows is virtually unusable. Assuming, however, that you've purchased a CNR membership, what you'll find is that CNR is the ultimate software repository. CNR is literally a masterpiece. Choose an application from the very logical and well thought out categories. Simple descriptions will help you find exactly what you're looking for. Navigate to it in the warehouse, click install, and it does. That's it. It's preferable to executable downloads, rpms, or even apt-get'ting files from the command line. It's easier than synaptic and yum. In keeping with the goal of Lindows to provide the easiest experience to the user, CNR receives an "A." Little has changed with CNR since the last time I used it visibly and architecture-wise, it's still a great program.
As you can see from the screenshot, Lindows uses a directory structure different from most distributions. They've ported the idea of My Documents and My Music from Windows, presumably to ease transition, and put a series of symlinks throughout the tree to make you more comfortable. Personally, I found the entire thing confusing. It seems to me that the smart thing to do is train a new user how the tree works rather than shielding them from it. I would imagine too much symlinking would become confusing as the user becomes more comfortable with Linux. In addition, the concept of "My Documents" being at the drive root is a holdover from the Windows9x days. Perhaps Lindows expects the majority of their customers to be those outgrowing Windows 98 and Me who are not going to XP. I, however, see this as an extension of the "run as root" issue - if a user can learn how it works in XP, they can figure it out in Linux.
It should also be pointed out that Lindows found my XP installation, mounted the NTFS drive read-only and the FAT32 crossover partition as writable, and placed them under /disks. I found this to be a fairly logical placement, as a newbie might not find /mnt to be logical. While the notion of /windows seems to be a common one, /disks is arguably a better terminology for all Linux distros to use, since there's no assumption that it will always be Windows Linux is replacing.
Lindows is not aimed at Linux users. If it were, it would fail miserably. It's not just run-as-root issue, the blatant relabelling, or disguising free software as their own work. It's the lack of control. It's the lack of...Linux about it. Of course, that's just what is so appealing about it to the real target audience. Lindows is Linux without all the Linux. Let's face it, there really is no distribution that doesn't require some know-how. To this day, even Mandrake, widely considered "the desktop distro," still needs command line tools to get the job done right. Lindows fixed this by simply removing the parts that would require that configuration. There's so little included in terms of system tools, but only in comparison to other Linux distributions. It's more comparable to XP Home Edition than anything else.
What makes Lindows so unique though is that it's backed by the dynamic Michael Robertson.
He has a propensity to cause trouble and, seemingly, doesn't care. He's the only person to take on Bill Gates and have people listen. He's speaks more pointedly than other alternative OS advocates, is taken more seriously than free software extremists, and takes more direct shots at Microsoft than anyone else, including the gutsy free PC offer. He also supports many open source projects and even commisions his own. Think he's got an ego? Worried that he's a madman? Think he's evil for ripping off programs and replacing their "About" boxes with Lindows information? Rest easy. He's still doing more for Linux than almost anyone else with the exception of Linus and his round table.
In the end, despite ease of use, I'm not overly impressed with Lindows. Perhaps it was all the good press that had my expectations so high. Maybe it's the fact that it really hasn't evolved all that much since version 2.0, two major versions ago (note: there have not been any point releases, possibly a good thing, since the terminology is actually pointless, and it's all marketing anyway). Maybe it's because it just looks enough like any old distro. Or maybe it's because my Click-N-Run trial expired and I'm not willing to pay for something I could figure out how to get for free.
Put bluntly, LindowsOS is not for everyone. After using it on and off for a few months, I'm probably going to replace it with Fedora Core or Slackware 9.1. But I respect Lindows for what it is, the Linux I'd turn to if I needed my mother to run it. Or my collegues at work. If you are familiar with Linux and are not turned off by the lack of certain manual configurations, you should probably stick with your distribution. If you are seeking polish and a unified system, this isn't that solution either. Lindows is not desktop Linux made perfect, it's desktop Linux made simple. That's what Lindows.com set out to do, and that's exactly what they've done.
Installation: 8/10
Hardware Support: 8/10 (missed an nVidia video card)
Ease of use: 9/10 (incredibly easy)
Features: 5/10 (needs more default software)
Credibility: 8/10 (no major OS "point" releases or clear-cut upgrade method)
Speed: 8/10
Overall: 7.66
- "LindowsOS 4.0 Examined, Page 1"
- "LindowsOS 4.0 Examined, Page 2"
