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Posted on 04/22/2006 9:45:41 AM PDT by N3WBI3
NEW YORK - In a move to make the freely distributed Linux operating system a stronger alternative to Microsoft Corp.'s Windows, a group of major Linux distributors announced Friday they have united on a standard set of components for desktop versions of Linux.
The standard created by the Free Standards Group should make it easier for developers to write applications that will work on Linux versions from different distributors.
Linux has a firm foothold as an operating system for servers - it's popular for hosting Web sites, for instance - but has only a few percent of the desktop market.
That's partly because, Linux, created in the early 90s by Finnish programmer Linus Torvalds, is really just the kernel, or core of an operating system. For a Linux computer to perform meaningful tasks, more software needs to be added that does things like presenting a graphical user interface.
Unfortunately, those added software libraries differ among Linux distributors, making it hard to know if an application like a word processor will function on a particular Linux computer.
"One of the big things that's difficult is consistency, and that's Window's biggest strength," said Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Free Standards Group.
If you buy a Windows program, you know it will run on a Windows computer, and Linux needs to work the same way, Zemlin said.
"If you really want to become a broadly adopted and used technology, you have to have that degree of standardization," he said.
The FSG, which counts among its members IBM Corp., Sun Microsystems Inc., Dell Inc. and Red Hat Inc., has previously certified server versions, or distributions, as conforming to its Linux Standard Base. The latest version of the LSB, 3.1, will be the first one to include a standard for desktop distributions.
The first desktop distribution to be certified will be from Xandros Inc. and will ship on May 1. It will be followed by certified distributions from Novell Inc., Red Hat, the Debian Project, Ubuntu and others.
There are two popular, competing graphical user interfaces for Linux, KDE and GNOME. The LSB doesn't choose between them, but mandates compatibility at a lower level of the system. That makes it possible to develop applications that should run on a system regardless of which user interface is installed, the FSG said.
Michael Jang, author of "Linux Annoyances for Geeks," said the desktop standard is a step in the right direction.
"There's more choice on the Linux desktop than most IT managers can stand, and that's led to problems," he said.
Obstacles remain, however, to widespread Linux adoption. It's still not clear, Jang said, if developers will create Linux versions of all applications people need. For example, tax preparation software, which changes every year, is not available for Linux (though tax preparation Web sites provide an alternative for less complex filings).
Also, most computer manufacturers install Windows by default, and only a few offer to install Linux. Installation by the user is easy, but it's still a step that daunts many, Jang said.
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When you try out a new type of Linux, you never know what you are getting and if applications you require will run on it.
Installation would also be easier if standards were followed.
You are right, it's not exactly earth shaterring, but it can only help Linux become more "user friendly", therefore, possibly convincing others to adapt to it.
I will definitely give Xandros 4.0 Deluxe a good runaround when it comes out. I'm using Xandros 3.0 right now. Started using Xandros back in 2004 with 2.01 OCE. Xandros 3.0 is really good, but I'm anxious to try out 4.0.
Granted Slack runs on a philosophy of using the most stable, and "tried and tested" software, it'd be nice to see things be easier to move between distributions...
Obviously I have never used Xandros and am curious as to why it is your preferred OS.
The 2 most successful installs I've had, thus far, have been Red Hat and Mandrake.
I was out of town for 2 weeks so I had to put installing Kubuntu on hold, but am going to try it in May. Hopefully I will have good results with it.
The sad thing on this is the major difference is usually just the package names. Dag and some others fought about this trying to remove distro names from their packages but got alot of pushback.
APPLE: Web writers not 'legitimate members of the press'...
Seems to me that Apple is going to pi$$ off a lot of bloggers and online-journalists with statements like this. I'm sure a lot of these "illegitimate" writers use Apple and may not appreciate it. I'm actually surprised there hasn't been much of an outcry ...
I mean, can you imagine if Micosoft were to say something like this?
But I guess as long as it's not the evil MS, it okay.
Seems to me that Apple is going to pi$$ off a lot of bloggers and online-journalists with statements like this. I'm sure a lot of these "illegitimate" writers use Apple and may not appreciate it. I'm actually surprised there hasn't been much of an outcry ...
I'd not seen it. Thanks for posting the link.
We certainly don't need the government to be in the business of determining who is a "legitimate" or "illegitimate" member of the press. This is power best left in the hands of the people themselves, through the marketplace. With any luck the court the issue is now before will rule appropriately on the issue.
When this nation was founded, many towns had a "Liberty Tree" near the town square where citizens could post handbills, news, and other information of interest to the community. The crown wasn't too thrilled about this, but it was a tradition that had grown up over time and was pretty well established around the time of the American Revolution. This tradition gradually died out due to the mass nature of media concentration and conglomeration.
Today, we have the World Wide Web. It is the Liberty Tree of the modern area. Again, governement agents (at all levels) don't particularly like this aspect of the internet. The same goes for many corporate organizations (apparently like Apple). We need to make sure that the government doesn't cut down this tree that has not fully matured yet.
I mean, can you imagine if Micosoft were to say something like this?
But I guess as long as it's not the evil MS, it okay.
I wouldn't be suprised at all if corporate MS has taken the same position as Apple in this case. It would be interesting to find out if they'd filed any amicus briefs for or against Apple's position in this case. Same goes for other large corporations
To me, it doesn't matter where the threat to liberty is coming from. I'm against it regardless.
Not everything Microsoft does is evil, but they do seem to have a propensity towards supporting the Dark Side.
Zeg,
Thanks for the historical tid-bit..
meh, I might be pretty piseed if I were Apple (lets face it just once I am sure they would like to have the unveiling of a product before its been on the net for several weeks..
That being said a leek is always seen as a crime by those it hurts and as freedom of information by those it helps..
It is really easy to install. I was a n00b back in 2004 when it came to Linux, but I found it easy to install even back them.
If you're familiar with the GUI of Windows, then you should be familiar with the GUI of Xandros.
It's pretty easy to install 3rd-party apps. You can use either Xandros Networks (like Linspire's CNR, but quite a bit of the stuff available in Xandros Networks is free to download, while you have to pay $20/$50 a year to join CNR) or the console using apt-get. I've managed to install and use GNOME on Xandros 3.0. The only thing about Xandros I don't like is the built-in CD/DVD burning in the Xandros File Manager, but it's easy to use apt-get to download and install K3b.
Xandros 3.0 Deluxe also comes with a built-in firewall.
It is also easy for me to install certain Windows-based apps (such as iTunes 4.9) by using Crossover Office. I've had mixed results with Transgaming Cedega, though. But these days I don't play much games on a PC. If I do play a game on a PC, it will probably be a classic console emulator such as Genesis or SNES...I have ZSNES installed on my Xandros machine, and it plays SNES games really good...almost as if I was using an actual SNES.
I just can't put my finger what what is it that makes Xandros my preferred OS...if I had to choose one thing, I guess I would have to say it's the one Linux distro where it's been really easy to get my winmodem working. Once I get my kernel headers compiled, installing the winmodem driver is a snap (it has a Conexant HSF chipset).
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