Alternatives to Windows revised 2-9-2005

Windows is not the only game in town. There are alternatives.

WalMart is now selling (on the web only), new computers for $199 and up with the Lindows operating system. This is a custom brand of Linux that operates much like Windows. For a beginner that just wants to keep some records, surf the web and write some e-mail with very little learning, this is a good alternative. revised 2-9-2005

Note: In the recent past, Lindows changed their name to Linspire for the US market. See http://www.linspire.com/

As of 2-9-2005, Walmart is selling a laptop with the Linspire operating system. They also sell the OS separately.

As of 2-9-2005, there are numerous vendors selling the Lindows system. Check the Linspire site for latest details.

One nice feature of Linspire is the Click and Run feature, now called CNR. For $49.95/year, you can download any program (from their selection of 1900 choices) you want and it is absolutely easy. You go to the web site, select the software you want and click Install and sit back. I tried this on a sample computer here locally and installed an Office suite (that reads and writes Microsoft files) in 5 minutes with only one click of the mouse.

Of course there is the other alternative called Mac, but expect to pay a lot more. Simple, works well, but costly.