[ale] Lindows vs the semi-annual Windows suck-a-thon

[Joe]

Hi folks,

I'm sitting here trying to get Win98 working on my wife's machine
*again*. As usual, the box, which boots and runs beautifully under
Linux, absolutely refuses to function properly under Win98
(specifically, it refuses to install any driver for a PCI
network card of any description - well, Netgear FA311s and
DLink D530s, anyway). There's little bits of computer guts
scattered all over the living room as I try different combinations
of junk-bin hardware, trying to create a system that Winblows
will deign to boot properly on. Not exactly a recipe for marital
bliss. I'd love to just install some variety of Linux on the
thing and be done with it, but my last attempt to convert
my wife ended with a fizzle.

So into my inbox drops a CNN article about the new Lindows.com $799,
1Ghz, 256MB, 20GB laptop. It looks pretty sweet, and the desktop looks
familiar enough (read "Windows-esque") to prevent my lovely and
talented but technophobic spouse from having a stroke. I wonder, can I
download this OS? Surely I can, it says right on their web site it's
based on Linux, so certainly it ought to be available under the GPL,
no?

But no, it's a proprietary EULA, with a specific exception
for any open-source licensed software included in the
distro. What's up with that?

The Lindows OS is $129, and apparently I can get a complete
system with Lindows pre-installed at Mall-Wart for $199.
Hmm.

So, anybody using Lindows? What do you think? If it sucks,
what then would be a good distro to use for someone who doesn't
necessarily like Windows, but is used to it and doesn't
want to have to learn something else? (Hear those "distro
flamewar" sirens wailing in the distance?)

Thanks,

-- Joe Knapka
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