[Tfug] Free Xandros linux for home users

[Angus Scott-Fleming]

Computerworld:

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Xandros launches free version of its desktop Linux software
  It will include Opera's Web browser as its default browser
  News Story by Todd R. Weiss

  JUNE 10, 2004 (COMPUTERWORLD) - Upstart Linux vendor
  Xandros Inc. has made a free version of its Linux desktop
  distribution available to noncommercial users to
  encourage its proliferation on computers around the
  world. 

  In an announcement yesterday, the New York-based company
  said its new "open circulation" edition is available to
  all noncommercial users at no charge. But it won't
  provide support for the software. 

  "We want the Open Circulation version of the Xandros
  desktop to replicate like a virus," Frederick H.
  Berenstein, chairman and chief technology officer of
  Xandros, said in a statement. "Open computing is coming
  of age, and every desktop user should know that there's a
  full-featured Windows alternative out there, and they're
  going to love it." 

  The Xandros Open Circulation Edition includes an office
  suite, e-mail client and multimedia capabilities. The
  operating system can be installed with a dual-boot option
  to run alongside Windows XP. 

  Also included is the Opera Web browser 7.50 from Opera
  Software ASA, marking the first time that the Opera
  browser has been included as the default browser in a
  desktop Linux distribution, according to a statement
  from Oslo-based Opera. 

  The Xandros desktop operating system software uses a
  version of the browser that is advertising-supported,
  said Jon von Tetzchner, Opera's co- founder and CEO.
  "Users will see a small banner with the advertising, so
  it won't be obtrusive." 

  The software can be downloaded from the company's Web
  site and can be copied for distribution. 

  Xandros was founded in 2001 and is based on the former
  Corel Linux distribution, which Xandros purchased from
  Ottawa-based Corel Corp. in 2001. The company is seeking
  to become a large player in the desktop Linux market as
  an alternative to Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating
  systems. 

  Xandros claimed that its operating system is compatible
  with most Microsoft file formats and isn't subject to
  any Windows viruses that are in the wild. 

  Laura Rohde of IDG News Service contributed to this
  story. 

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http://www.computerworld.com/softwaretopics/os/linux/story/0,10801,93779,00.html