* Xandros unveils Desktop Home Edition
Xandros last week launched a Linux-based desktop system, which aims to keep pace with the digital entertainment features of Mac OS X and Windows XP.
Emphasizing the fun stuff over more mundane office productivity, Web browsing and e-mail applications, Xandros Desktop Home Edition features digital music, DVD and CD burning, photo editing and management, plus other distractions for Linux users tired of looking at spreadsheets and text documents.
The desktop Linux package includes the Xandros Photo Manager, for photo editing, album creation and importing photos from digital cameras. The Music Management package includes a CD and MP3 player and an encoder, for creating MP3s out of CDs or WAV files. The application also includes a tool for syncing songs with an iPod. A CD and DVD burning tool is also part of the package.
Skype, the VoIP softphone communications client, is also included in the software, along with 30 free minutes of SkypeOut, which allows users to call regular telephone numbers on a per-minute charge basis; PC-to-PC Skype calls are free.
Standard PC applications are also in Xandros Desktop Home Edition, such as OpenOffice, Firefox, the Thunderbird e-mail client, and some gadget applications for stock ticker and weather tracking.
The new software comes in the Home Edition and Home Edition Premium versions. The Home Edition comes with basic features, such as Web, office and e-mail applications and Skype. The Premium edition is needed to get the music, photo and DVD/CD burning tools. Premium also includes some potentially useful system tools and features, such as the ability to read and write from an NTFS (Windows NT File System) drive partition – whereas Xandros could only read from NTFS partitions, on systems where Windows and Linux exist in a dual-boot configuration. The Premium edition also includes the CodeWeavers CrossOver Office plug-in, allowing Microsoft Office to be installed on a Linux system. Also included is the Verosa Progression Desktop migration package, which allows users to migrate from a Windows box to Linux.
The Xandros Desktop Home Edition costs $40 and the Premium edition is $80. Both are available now.
