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LindowsOS or Xandros Desktop?

December 17, 2003

This article was contributed by Ladislav Bodnar

Earlier this week, two almost simultaneous release announcements from Lindows.com and Xandros Corporation provided some entertainment during the otherwise quiet, pre-holiday season. Lindows.com's LindowsOS 4.5 and Xandros Corporation's Xandros Desktop 2.0 are in many ways similar products with a more or less identical target market. If you still need a Christmas present for a less technically inclined member of your family or if you find it hard to make a decision whether to get one or the other, then this brief feature comparison might be of help.

Installation.. Both LindowsOS and Xandros Desktop provide easy system installation in no more than a few clicks. Both have excellent auto-detection of most hardware, including hundreds of digital cameras and many wireless network cards. However, the Xandros installer is a lot more sophisticated in its advanced mode - it allows partition resizing, custom software selection, user setup and even some advanced security configuration. It detects an existing Xandros installation and offers an upgrade path while preserving user data and settings. In contrast, the LindowsOS installer is primitive even in its "advanced" mode, with the only available choice being an option to specify a partition to which to install the operating system. LindowsOS 0, Xandros 1.

First impressions. While developers of both products have clearly done many usability studies to make migration from Windows as easy as possible, LindowsOS has been more imaginative in this effort. A series of well-presented audiovisual tutorials on various subjects is a good example of that. On top of it, Lindows.com arguably employs more talented graphics designers, a fact that is further enhanced by the availability of stunning scenic desktop backgrounds, beautiful icons and a matching default desktop theme. Although Xandros does have an advantage in providing a more comprehensive printed manual, this round will have to go to LindowsOS for its combination of an eye-catching desktop, innovative tutorials, and jargon-free product guides easily palatable by even a less technically skilled audience. LindowsOS 1, Xandros 0.

Applications. Earlier versions of LindowsOS were criticized for having a very limited set of available applications out of the box. This has improved in version 4.5, with previously absent OpenOffice.org, CD burner and certain multimedia applications, such as RealPlayer, now provided without having to subscribe to the $50-a-year Click-N-Run service. Still, Xandros Desktop 2.0 comes on two CDs with a larger range of applications. It is also more up-to-date with KDE 3.1.4 (as opposed to KDE 3.0.1 in LindowsOS 4.5) and OpenOffice.org 1.1.0. It can't be a coincidence that LindowsOS 4.5 ships with an older OpenOffice.org 1.0.3, while it uses every opportunity to promote the non-free StarOffice 7. LindowsOS 0, Xandros 1.

Online updates. One of the strong points of LindowsOS is its excellent Click-N-Run (CNR) service for one-click software installation and updates. Perhaps inspired by CNR, Xandros has a similar service, called Xandros Networks. Although not as sophisticated as its LindowsOS counterpart, it does the job of installing applications, and it does it so for free (installing certain applications requires free online registration). Nevertheless, the CNR service is better designed with comprehensive package information, options to group applications into software "aisles" for batch installation and availability of many interesting commercial applications and games at greatly reduced prices. We'll give this round to LindowsOS: LindowsOS 1, Xandros 0.

Special features. Both LindowsOS and Xandros are quick to point out many unique characteristics of their products. The latest LindowsOS comes with a SIPphone, an Internet telephony application (see this screenshot) which allows users to place free telephone calls anywhere in the world. SIPphone requires a broadband connection to be effective, but our brief tests with the application showed excellent voice quality. The catch? The phone calls can only be made to a physical SIPphone, a product by Lindows.com's sister company SIPphone, Inc, or another user running LindowsOS. Other new features in LindowsOS 4.5 are remote desktop sharing and a Google-powered web page search and translation service nicely integrated into Mozilla's right click menu.

Xandros, on the other hand, has focused its development on the excellent Xandros File Manager, providing many pleasant features. These include drag-and-drop archive creation and audio ripping, seamless file sharing across mixed networks and integrated drag-and-drop CD burning. The "switch user" feature is a convenient tool for quick desktop switching between several virtual desktops. The Deluxe Edition also comes with CrossOver Office and Plugin for running certain Windows applications under Linux. This round ends in a draw: LindowsOS 1, Xandros 1.

Price. LindowsOS costs $49.95 (download) or $59.95 (retail package), while Xandros sells for $39.95 (Basic Edition) or $89.95 (Deluxe Edition). The cost of LindowsOS is slightly misleading, because it costs additional $49.95 per year to join the CNR service, without which the product isn't nearly as much fun. However, after joining CNR, all future product updates, including newly released ISO images are free as long as the CNR membership is maintained. Still, the $39.95 Xandros Desktop Standard Edition is probably a better value, especially since it includes a lot more software than LindowsOS and it does not require regular payments. LindowsOS 0, Xandros 1.

Conclusion. Even after comparing many aspects of the two products, it is still hard to pick a winner. Xandros has a superior installer, more software and is better value for the money, while LindowsOS has more eye-candy, imaginative tutorials and the excellent Click-N-Run service. Some users might also value certain non-technical aspects of these products - those interested in online interaction with other users will find LindowsOS forums more active, while others might prefer to support a company that contributes back to the Linux community; unlike Xandros, Lindows.com sponsors several open source projects, such as Gaim. The innovative SIPphone application might be another good reason to prefer LindowsOS. But some might be put off by a constant barrage of anti-Microsoft propaganda found in Lindows.com newsletters and press releases, with more court battles with the Redmond software giant over the name "Lindows" coming up in the near future.

Both LindowsOS 4.5 and Xandros Desktop 2.0 are excellent distributions that won't disappoint.

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