forums.xandros.com

Doctore · Last edited by Doctore on Sun Mar 09, 2008 8:17 am; edited 3 times in total

THOUGHTS LIKE THESE HAVE SURELY BEEN DISCUSSED OVER THOUSANDS OF TIMES.
AND IT MIGHT BE AS THROWING GASOLINE IN TO FIRE. BUT, WHY NOT AGAIN?

Xandros pros:
A) Stable
B) No installs/upgrades needed every half year
C) Lesser fidling after install
D) Many needed applications available
E) Easy to learn and use
F) And many others

Some Linux cons (not Linux fault):
G) Commercial driver support needs improvements
H) Legal music/video buying/downloading could be better
I) Codecs required playing media formats not always legal
J) Some commercial applications not available
K) And other tings...

Nothing wrong with Xandros business model. The products, Server, Professional and Premium are among the best.

Including manual with Home (dont cost Xandros anything), could be an good idea to attract users, that chooses
other cheap/free distributions.

Standard answers, when suggesting non-geeks to switch to Linux:
-"knows Windows but Linux seems difficult".
-"heard Linux is non-GUI with strange commands".
-"Dont want/have time to learn something new".
-"Maybe the hardware dont work"?
-"Nobody uses Linux, who helps whith problems"?
Xandros solves some of these questions.

Linux biggest problem is to overcome non-geek users acceptance of something else than what they are used to.

Answers, when suggesting Xandros:
-"Does Xandros costs? Wasnt Linux free"?
-"Paid for Windows, Why pay again"?
-"Is trial version valid only for 30 days"?
-"Gonna check for something else"!

Microsoft estimates 20-30% of used copys are pirated versions. Many users dont want/afford to pay. But when
more uses it, even more will buy it. Windows best side is that it usually works/can get to work, easily.

Almost all Linux distributions are available for free, some great, other not. Some dont work out of the box and
gives noon-geeks bad experiences. After testing some says, "nothing works" or even "will never try Linux again"!

Xandros products are not unique or perfect. But usable. All users buying Xandros does it because of the added value.
Not because it isnt for free. But There are users who will never and ever pay for Linux. Using trial CD:s turns those
users away from Xandros. Give them real things instead. And let them use this fine Linux software! Then they dont
need to look for Fedora, Linspire, Mandriva, SuSE, Ubuntu, liveCD:s or even (god forgive) Windows...

The OCE already exists in Home. Distribute it as torrent for free, payed FTP download or buyable CD without
suggested bundled manual from first day a new version is released. Call it "Free"... Of course only for home use.
Make testversions available before official launchdate. More testers could be of god help getting the products ready
for primetime. English language is enough. Make downloadable language packs and trial software available on XN.
Maybe some trial/software and languages could be available via torrent? Skip trial CD versions. As the activation
thing was skipped. This gives lesser versions to support! Make information about installation problems, how to solve
those and some how to get started easy available. The pirated versions will lose their interest immediately.

Dont wait until the train has left the station. Release Xandros 4 Free now!

It possible could damage sales of Premium and Professional. Or not. Maybe Home will be incredible popular?. It will
pay off in the long run. Those getting Xandros for free, maybe later are willing to pay for extra value, when they
understand that everything cant be for free. Maybe they also recommends Xandros to friends. They could also be
interested in extra value, as buyable manuals and applications.

Many thinks massive marketing means more selling. Right? But at what cost? Making Xandros wellknown should be easy.
without burning much money. It would even be free! Without forcing users away. The old jungle drum can do the work.
Some says that something for free cant be god. But as Linux distribution Xandros can prove the opposit.

Out there are millions of non-geek customers/users gladly willing to switch to Linux. But guess what? When they hear
about usable Linux versions that costs the same as Windows, without all possibilities, they says: "Ill stick with XP"
or "Im buing a new PC with Vista"... Why not do someting about those answers?

Xandros should and can play monopoly. And give Microsoft and other Linux distributers an real fight...

Doctore

(PS. dont get upset over these thoughts DS.)

RCC2k7 · Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 6:49 pm Post subject:

I've been trying Linux here and there for five years. I stayed away from Xandros before, precisely because I had to pay for it and the OCE was outdated.

However, as I tried everything from fully free OSS distros to those you could get for free but have to pay a fee for media, email support or for the inclusion of commercial software, none of them really satisfied me. Only SuSE 9.0 came close but it went downhill after Novell acquired SuSE. It came to the point that the only distros I had not tried were the über-geeek distros (Slackware, Gentoo, Fedora, Debian) and those that weren't free (Linspire, Xandros, Linux XP). Believe me, you do get what you pay for. Sure some of the free distros can get quite usable, after you've wasted weeks to learn them and hack them to death. Time is money!

I don't regret the USD $80 I paid for Xandros at all. Not only have I gotten the most usable Linux I've ever had on my desktop, but I've been able to get more help from guys on this forum, much better support than other free distros, and even some that include a number of incidents of email support for a fee. Not to mention that the Full Xandros 4.1 Home Edition Premium cost me less than the Upgrade for Windows XP Home Edition, and that the full Xandros 4.1 Professional costs waaaay less than the upgrade for Windows XP Professional. (Don't get me started on price comparison with Vista Wink

)

Now, the price is right, the demo is wrong. Rather than a 30-day demo, I think Xandros should come up with a live-only CD or DVD of Xandros Home, with as much hardware support, productivity and multimedia packages as can fit on the disc, without including those for the XN premium members. That way the user can try what the Xandros OS feels like without repartitioning and commiting to an installation, and see why it is worth paying for it.
_________________
sudo: A word from Spanish that actually means "I sweat".

sqlpython · Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 7:09 pm Post subject:

Hear! Hear!

sqlpython · Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 10:04 pm Post subject:

Hmm.. Look what I found a Xandros live CD iso

http://support.xandros.com/downloads/

Is this a work in progress or a work failed Question

_________________

Criticism only accepted for Solutions that work. ;^)
RevLinux, Debian Squeeze"
Kubuntu 10.04 & 10.10

Davepet · Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 1:52 am Post subject:

Interesting, recently updated too. Someone with a fast connection should give it a try before it disappears... Wink

_________________

Friends don't let friends use windows
GLPW
Registered Linux User #301200

bryantrv · Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 7:48 am Post subject:

Grabbed, burned and booted Wink

Works very well for me- boots up no problem, is setup with a user Live and auto login for that user, which is nice.
Easily as fast as any other live cd I've used (and the newer knopix versions will not boot on my computer).
_________________
--
Chris Bryant
http://www.kindofpeckish.com
http://opensourcemachine.org
http://bryantrv.com
http://rx4rv.com

RCC2k7 · Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 10:15 am Post subject:

The Live CD is a live image of Xandros Professional. I tried it and the default boot works nicely on my systems. HOWEVER, I'm not confident the troubleshooting options are working though. For example, I chose the option of setup in VESA mode, but the Display Settings applet still shows up as using the 'fglrx' driver. Same lack of confidence goes for the ACPI/APM modes. So it looks like if the default setup works well on your system(s) then great, otherwise you may be out of luck.

I have to note that this is the fastest booting Live CD I've tried.
_________________
sudo: A word from Spanish that actually means "I sweat".

sqlpython · Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 12:00 pm Post subject:

RCC2k7 · Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 1:17 pm Post subject:

BoyLinux · Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 4:15 pm Post subject:

Yeah....

Um...

This is not the LiveCD you are looking for....

Those that did download I would appreciate not distributing it as it was a prelimenary test done by a developper in their own time and is not a released product or anywhere near being releasable. It was put up by accident by someone here and should never have gone up in a publically accessible area to begin with.

Everyone else please forget it existed for now.
_________________
Kevin MacPherson
Xandros - Product Manager
Project Management
Official Forum Moderator

"The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance -- it is the illusion of knowledge."

bryantrv · Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 4:20 pm Post subject:

Dang- you mean I've got to pull my eBay "Linux Vista Live CD" sale Smile

Do try to point out the excitement it caused to the bosses- as a trial it might be better than a complete install (and I will be guarding my copy for rescue work if needed, though I'll scratch out the title I wrote on the disc and put "Vista Bootleg" on it Very Happy

.
_________________
--
Chris Bryant
http://www.kindofpeckish.com
http://opensourcemachine.org
http://bryantrv.com
http://rx4rv.com

sqlpython · Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 4:22 pm Post subject:

Sorry Kevin,

Didn't intend to upset the apple cart.. Sad

I believed if it was on the download it was good to go..

I still think it is a great idea.. Work in progress or not..
Other Distros & Packages have the Unstable Distros if you will...
As this is a Live CD there is much less chance to do Hardrive / system damage.
I for one am happy to be a Beta Tester of the Live offering..Without Warranty..
Example: RCC2k7 Has already offered up some useful Critique.

What do you say?
_________________

Criticism only accepted for Solutions that work. ;^)
RevLinux, Debian Squeeze"
Kubuntu 10.04 & 10.10

BoyLinux · Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 4:44 pm Post subject:

It was originally done as a possible replacement for OCE but we did not have enough time to polish it over an installable version. I doubt we will release a V4 version but V5 maybe.

Sorry for causing this much excitement for nothing right now.
_________________
Kevin MacPherson
Xandros - Product Manager
Project Management
Official Forum Moderator

"The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance -- it is the illusion of knowledge."

BoyLinux · Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 4:47 pm Post subject:

Oh and as for the original post about an OSS version of Xandros Desktop not in consideration for now but if you really want something you should post to our feedback e-mail. http://support.xandros.com/contact.php?contactname=feedback
_________________
Kevin MacPherson
Xandros - Product Manager
Project Management
Official Forum Moderator

"The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance -- it is the illusion of knowledge."

Michael_Valentine · Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 6:04 pm Post subject:

Worked well on my systems, wireless and all! I will refrain from passing them along, but the download is still available! Shocked

_________________
Spyware, Adware and Viruses? What Spyware, Adware and Viruses! I use OS X & GNU/Linux!
Registered GNU/Linux User # 285765