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Attack of the Clones: Is Lindows the Real Deal?

  • Feb 14, 2003
Lindows 3.0 promises fast installations, easy updates, and an interface built to please. Seth Fogie takes a closer look at this operating system to determine whether Lindows has accomplished its goal.
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Overview

It's no secret that Microsoft currently owns the home user operating system (OS) market. As a result, most people have never experienced an operating system other than Windows. Whether at work, at home, and even on the phone, that little flag symbolizing a Microsoft operating system seems to be embedded for good. However, this decade-and-a-half-long reign may be soon coming to a close.

Before continuing, let me state that this article is not meant to bash Microsoft or start an OS war. While statistics can be argued, it's pretty much undeniable that Microsoft has managed to capture roughly 90–95% of the home user market. The reason has been disputed by computer geeks and businesspersons alike, but the end result remains: Microsoft has been successful at obtaining and keeping users.

Instead of OS attacks, this article will focus on one of the options available to people who are ready and willing to take that first courageous step into unknown software. While there are many alternatives to Microsoft, from one of the many flavors of Linux to Macintosh's OS X, this article will focus on a relatively new OS—Lindows. So, please, let's not make this an M$ versus penguin war, but let's focus on the facts of what makes an operating system usable.

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