Here's the text
----
Or, consider something else entirely. If you really want a new
operating system, there are plenty of options out there for
experimentation. And they’re free.
Yeah, I’m talkin’ ‘bout Linux. I know what you’re thinking: no
applications, spotty hardware support and lots of command-line
typing. I can’t honestly tell you that Linux is free of these
disadvantages, but it’s easier than ever to try out Linux without a
lot of pain.
Various Linux distributions have long been available for free
download. All you needed was patience and a CD burner and a
willingness to futz with your hard drive’s partitions. That was too
much commitment and risk for some people.
Now, many distributions let you download what’s called a Live CD.
There’s nothing to install — once you download the operating system
and burn it to CD, it runs right from that. In some cases, you can
even download to a USB flash drive. Best of all, a few distributions
have been made a lot smaller for a quick download.
Take SLAX. Based on the hardcore Linux geek’s favorite distro,
Slackware, SLAX comes in a few compact sizes. Frodo Edition is 53MB,
but it’s just a text console. Popcorn Edition is twice the size at
115MB, but includes a graphical user interface, the Firefox browser
and AbiWord document editor.
Damn Small Linux packs a graphical desktop, a music player, three
browsers, spreadsheet and word processing programs and a bunch more
into just 50MB. Like SLAX, it can run from a mini CD or a USB drive.
There are literally too many other options to list here, but try
looking at www.livecdlist.com. Or just buy a Mac.
---
I think he's a bit off the mark. Ubuntu, Fedora, Etc. are all VERY
easy to install (easier than Windows at this point). Also, I don't
know any "desktop" linux that -requires- you to mess around with
partitions during the install.
He also fails to bring up really quality desktop linux distros like I
mentioned, focusing more on LiveCDs (and not very popular or
widespread ones in my opinion).
Talking about a "Frodo edition" that's only 53MB but is only a
console is going to have people worried about trying Linux running
for the hills.
On Jan 18, 2007, at 11:18 AM, Mark Mcsweeney wrote:
Saw this article in the Hippo Press:
http://www.hippopress.com/techie.html
mentioned was the option of switching to alternative OS when Vista
comes out.
I also wrote an email to him recommending that he look at some of
the current distros and review them in his columns. It will be
interesting if and how he responds.
Mark
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