Is Xandros a Linux distro, a marketing machine or a Microsoft stooge?

David M Williams
Monday, 15 June 2009 12:20

Business IT - Technology

GNU founder Richard Stallman commented, “No other GNU/Linux distribution has backslided so far away from freedom. Switching from MS Windows to Linspire does not bring you to freedom, it just gets you a different master.”

Let’s return our attention to Xandros. The financial backer, Linux Global Partners – or LGP – purchased a German product called Ximian Evolution which is an impressively close mimic of Microsoft Outlook.

This was actually a good move, whether aiming for a Microsoft clone or not. One stranglehold Microsoft has on the desktop is the popularity and utility of Microsoft Outlook for e-mail and collaboration and a viable Linux replacement can help gain ground.

Ximian was purchased with the help of the Dialysis Corporation of America. They lent the amount required to Xandros with repayment expected within two years. However Xandros failed to fulfil its obligation and consequently were forced to sell the product to Novell - who have so far failed to really make a good use of this application despite its potential for claiming desktop share.

Meanwhile, Xandros has continued on. It is notable for its modified KDE interface which replaces Konqueror with a proprietary Xandros File Manager, as well as its Xandros Network package manager that is based on both APT and CNR.

For a period of time, Xandros 4.0 included a product activation feature and without activation users could not download programs or updates from Xandros Network. Once 10 activations were exceeded users were required to call Xandros Support for assistance. After much criticism Xandros removed this requirement.

As with Linspire, Xandros entered into the Microsoft broad collaboration agreement in June 2007 which includes patent covenants to not sue Xandros customers but effectively restricts Xandros from distributing software licensed under the GNU General Public License version 3 which prohibits new products from being participants in patent protection deals.

That may not bother the company, however. Ever since its first release way back, Xandros has apparently spent more on marketing efforts than on developing its distribution. The end goal has been a desktop resembling Windows XP and Vista and, after signing the agreement, a focus on implementing more and more Microsoft technology and less and less traditional Linux technology.

Xandros cites objectives being to help businesses lower infrastructure costs and empower Window-centric businesses to benefit from the flexibility and reliability of Linux without requiring Linux expertise.

These objectives are good and right. Yet, has Xandros gone too far, becoming a proprietary system of its own? Is Microsoft actually waging a war against Linux through cross-collaboration agreements by diluting the message of open source software and software freedom? Is Xandros an example of a fragmented Linux community?