Overall, the Powerpack releases by Mandriva have impressed me greatly. Note that these are not free. They are based on the free distribution but include a variety of proprietary drivers and components not offered in the free version. Of course, the components may be downloaded and added to the free version.
For users who are already familiar with Linux, Fedora 9 is an excellent choice. Robust security features and installation options make it somewhat more versatile than Ubuntu, which offers a more streamlined (and therefore more restricted) installation.
Linux is free and that's a beautiful thing. (That one's for the Michael Bolton fans in the audience. Thank you, sir. You can sit down now.) If you need to use Microsoft Office for word processing or Excel worksheets, you can download the 'international open standard format' at OpenOffice.org for, you guessed it, zero dollars.
I'm beginning to think the only way VIA will ever really 'get it together' is if they employed someone from the Linux community who actually understands how all this works, because it seems someone in Taiwan isn't getting the memos.
Asus is selling a variety of other Eee Box configurations around the world, but it will have three available in the U.S. One for $269 comes with 1GB of RAM, an 80GB hard drive, and an unspecified version of Linux. Another Linux-based model comes with 2GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive for $299. Finally, a Windows XP-based version with 1GB or RAM and an 80GB hard drive will sell for $299.
Moreover, the availability of this system will stand in stark contrast to the sclerotic Windows Vista that is also on the machine. Users will be able to compare first hand the gulf that separates the two systems, and will be faced with an interesting choice: watch the gazelle-like GNU/Linux spring into life in a few seconds or hang around waiting minutes for Vista to rise with the grace of a comatose Kraken to the surface of digital consciousness.
In spite of fragmentary information about changes, that I’ve published sincemy last insight (like the Amarok 2 visual changelog), I’ve decided after all to gather them all in one place. Hence, I invite you to the next insight of KDE 4. The revision of the day is 811150.
Comments
Gopal
2008-06-03 08:10:11