XANDROS SERVER edition

The most noticeable change in Xandros since version 3 is the interface. Everything from the installation boot splash screen to the KDE desktop and all points in between has been graphically enhanced. Cosmetically this is an impressive distribution, but I am growing increasingly weary of blue themes. I think this must be the "blue period" for GNU/Linux -- SUSE, Linspire, Mandriva, Red Hat, and Xandros all have blue standard themes.


Unless I missed it in the previous version, Xandros now requires product activation to enable the Xandros Networks program. Previously you needed a subscription to take full advantage of Xandros Networks, but you could still get updates. In version 4, the whole framework is inoperable until you put in your support serial number, which is sent to Xandros to generate your product activation code, which is emailed to you. Then you enter that code into a prompt in the XN client to enable it. Word on the Xandros forum is, you can only use your serial number five times before you have to make a phone call to activate your XN subscription (normal business hours only). Some Xandros customers are upset about this, complaining that it's no better than Microsoft's product activation schemes. In effect, Xandros actually is a little bit better; Windows XP requires product activation to use the operating system, whereas Xandros only restricts support requests and product updates -- the base distribution is perfectly usable without the activation code. Secondly, every other major commercial GNU/Linux distribution except SUSE already does this -- Mandriva, Red Hat, and Linspire -- so there aren't a lot of alternatives in the top tier if you're trying to avoid any kind of product registration. I'm not saying what Xandros is doing is in any way ethical or respectful of its customers' privacy; I'm just pointing out that everyone else is doing it, so there really is no surprise here.

The Xandros Home Edition 4.0 license is rather strange -- it now allows customers to install the entire distribution on an unlimited number of home computers and one business computer. This is a sensible choice because, quite honestly, it's what people do anyway regardless of license restrictions. I don't know how this broad allowance reconciles with the fact that you can't activate your support serial number more than five times.

A new feature in the Premium Edition is the Xandros Security Suite, comprised of a firewall, anti-virus scanner, and file system protection application. The latter two programs wanted to run memory- and disk-intensive services at frequent intervals, so I disabled them. Realistically, I think most users are going to have to do the same in order to avoid a noticeable system performance decrease. These services seem like they are designed more to assuage the fears of paranoid-by-experience Windows refugees than as useful security precautions anyway.

Also new to Premium Edition is the Xandros Storage Manager, Xandros File Manager, and the Paragon NTFS kernel module. The latter allows you to write to Windows NTFS partitions; the standard Linux kernel module only allows reading NTFS volumes, so this could be a great asset to people who need to share data with a Windows partition.

CD1
Xandros Desktop Home Edition - Premium
download
http://rapidshare.com/files/12080531/Xandros.Desktop.V.4.0.Home.Premium_cd_1.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/12081572/Xandros.Desktop.V.4.0.Home.Premium_cd_1.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/12082216/Xandros.Desktop.V.4.0.Home.Premium_cd_1.part3.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/12083036/Xandros.Desktop.V.4.0.Home.Premium_cd_1.part4.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/12083922/Xandros.Desktop.V.4.0.Home.Premium_cd_1.part5.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/12085053/Xandros.Desktop.V.4.0.Home.Premium_cd_1.part6.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/12085533/Xandros.Desktop.V.4.0.Home.Premium_cd_1.part7.rar

CD2

download

http://rapidshare.com/files/12086748/Xandros.Desktop.V.4.0.Home.Premium_cd_2.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/12087397/Xandros.Desktop.V.4.0.Home.Premium_cd_2.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/12088173/Xandros.Desktop.V.4.0.Home.Premium_cd_2.part3.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/12088777/Xandros.Desktop.V.4.0.Home.Premium_cd_2.part4.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/12090740/Xandros.Desktop.V.4.0.Home.Premium_cd_2.part5.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/12091715/Xandros.Desktop.V.4.0.Home.Premium_cd_2.part6.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/12092511/Xandros.Desktop.V.4.0.Home.Premium_cd_2.part7.rar

http://www.xandros.com/products/business/server_intro.html