I'm considering installng Xandros Desktop OS Standard Edition on my laptop.  Is it a good operating system?
117419
Xandros would most likely work, I have the community edition installed. Its a great candy coated linux with the ease of Win/OSX. As for running windows program, if you have bought it with the CodeWeaver software which is a commercial WINE, its able to run IE, MS Office and Photoshop. A few other programs I tried did not work too well on it. Hope this helps and good luck.
133833
lots of software will not be supported if you run them on ME.  ME is not a very good OS and should not be used for anything.
258244
Microsoft Windows 2000/xp  is good for laptop
701839
Go with the HP NX6325 at www.stupidcheapcomputers.net.  I buy all of my stuff from them, and everything is Vista ready.\n\nMicrosoft is about to release its latest operating system, Vista, in January.  It’s going to make all of these “bargain” computers nothing but JUNK as soon as it’s released.  The reason that you are seeing so many cheap systems on the market right now is because a lot of them CAN’T RUN Vista and the merchants are trying to dump them as hard and fast as they can before Vista shows up and everyone learns what a piece of crap they were sold for $500 (or whatever).\n\nAnyway, I bought a complete, new system from stupidcheapcomputers.net with a warranty for LESS than it would cost me to build it myself or order a custom one from the manufacturer.  You can use my frequent buyer code: ATX926.  That will get an additional 10% discount at checkout.\n\nI have NEVER had any problems with anything that they have sold me and their customer service is outstanding.  Those guys blow my mind.\n\nGood luck!
962606
This is saying that your windows version cannot be verified as legitimate. Also make sure you have Service Pack 2 on your PC. Without that, it cannot run. You also have to have enough space for it. If you have these things, you might have to email microsoft or yahoo about the trouble.\n\nBtw, I just downloaded myself today on my oldest PC to test it before putting it on my laptop. And so far I REALLY like it. It's a little unually looking, but once you take the tour to learn about the features, it's no harder to use that the old version. Plus, the security is better and it compacts the menu bars so you can see more on the screen. I think it's nice. I'm going to test it for these "bugs" they talk about before putting it on the laptop, but so far I see no problems.\n\nGood luck. I hope you can get it downloaded.
54221
Ubuntu is a great way to go for a 64-bit system. It is free, and they will even send you free CD's if you can't download it for some reason (if you are asking a question here, I assume you are already online). For me, the best part of Ubuntu is the community. There is a great community of people from around the world, that are very polite and always happy to help answer any questions that you may have: http://www.ubuntuforums.org\n\nEven though Ubuntu is currently on version 5.1 (Breezy Badger), http://ubuntuguide.org which was written for version 5.04 (Warty Warthog), is still a great guide that is very helpful as well.\n\nThe Synaptic Package Manager makes it VERY easy to install additional programs, and most of them are free.\n\nThere is a live CD (which runs from the CD, but is slower), if you would like to try it without having to install it to your hard drive first:\nhttp://mirror.mcs.anl.gov/pub/ubuntu-iso/5.10/\n\nGive it a try, I am sure that you will like it. I installed Ubuntu as a dual-boot about 5 months ago, and I finally removed Windows about two months ago. I am here to stay.
1070256
It's great.  Been using it about 4 months and I'm ready to make Windows my back-up system and use Ubuntu Linux exclusively.  If you're familiar with Windows XP, you'll immediately feel comfortable with Ubuntu.  They've got a great forum and live tech support.  Answers can be had usually in minutes, not hours or days like Microsoft.  You can do just about anything Windows can do and, in most cases, easier.  If you're not ready to install it on your hard drive, you can get a free live CD.  You don't even have to pay for shipping.  Go to www.ubuntu.com and sign up for the free CD.  Practice with it, see what you think, and if you like it, install it on your hard drive.  I think once yhou've experienced what it can do and how easy it is, you'll want to use it almost all the time instead of Windows.  And it's incredibly secure from viruses, spyware, etc.  You can read reviews from various computer magazines, businesses, etc.
90523
The best free OS is probably one of the many versions (read distro or distribution in Linux-speak) of Linux.  One of my consistent favorites has been Fedora as this distribution has perhaps the greatest flexibility and options for use.  Ease of use variants of Linux are Linspire (this used to be called Lindows), Mandrake/Mandriva and Xandros.  There is also a version of Xandros (Xandros Desktop Deluxe) that is sold for about $100 that includes software (CodeWeavers Crossover Office*) that will permit you to run some Windows applications. An open source application called WINE (Wine is Not an Emulator) will also give you the ability to run some Windows applications from a Linux install, but I don't recommend this for people who are unfamiliar with Linux or tweaking software. \n\nThe short answer is the best free OS is Linux, but with 150 or so distributions available, it's possible that you may have that many different preferences (it really comes down to how you define best - e.g. is it the most bundled applications?  the most compatible with Windows? the easiest to use?)  If best for you means ease of use, then you must consider Linspire, Xandros or Mandriva.  If best for you means the greatest flexibility and most bundled applications, then you really should take a look at Fedora.\n\nThe best free operating system that will run Windows programs is ReactOS, although the developers clearly state that this is a project still in the Alpha stage of development (this means that unless you are willing to put up with some technical issues, stick with something else).  The next best would be any distribution of Linux that includes WINE (or a download of it), but again, you'll have to do your homework before using this. \n\nOn a short side note, there are some distributions that permit you to boot to Linux from a cd-rom without installing it on or over your current OS. If your intent is to get the feel of Linux before jumping in, you may want to consider this option. While there are several that will permit you to do this, the only one I've personally used is Knoppix STD which successfully booted on an old Pentium 233 MHz laptop. Other distros that are cd-bootable are Gnoppix, PC Linux OS, GeeXbox (there are more).\n\nTo look at comparisons and extensive information about the various distributions, one of the best sources is Distrowatch  (http://distrowatch.com/).\n\n*Information about CodeWeavers Crossover Office and other CodeWeavers products can be found at http://www.codeweavers.com - this is not a free product.
1174381
Be wary of questions like this, every linux user has one distro that slays all others, and its almost never the same as the next user.  All linux distro's have the security and lower system overhead than windows, all that really changes is the feel.  If you want to learn linux slowly without losing too much of the windows feel, then you should try a distro based off of kde.  Xandros is the most useable interface, but cd burning is crippled in the free version and retail is 40 bucks, but it is great to try and for most I've recommended this to it is worth the fee.  If you want free with no restrictions and a windows feel, you can't beat Mepis.  If you want to try something really new, ubuntu is based off of Gnome, which is very similar to the Mac user interface, it takes some getting used to but is typically faster.  If you have some time and want to see your computer run faster than you thought possible, then Gentoo is the distro for you.  Be warned though, Gentoo is quite difficult to install, but is well worth the effort.(you can choose which style to use during install, kde is the default though)
610920
Vmware and using a live distro although very good don't quite run linux to it's full potential, if you really want to try it properly install it as a dual boot with windows, it can always be removed at a later date.
827702
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5500, 1.66GHz, with Centrino Technology, 2GB RAM, 240GB Hard Drive, 17-inch WXGA+ TFT Display, 8X DVD+/-RW Drive, Windows XP Media Center 2005 \n\nnot bad
11809
Yes, anything with an Athon 64 runs Windows x64.\n\nBut... it won't be worth it.  At least not yet.  Too many things are just not compatible yet.  You'll be lucky to run maybe 20% of what you're used to without problem or at all.
684511
I guess it all depends on what you wish to use it for...\n\nI've had many different computers in my time, and by far the most impressive and one requiring the least maintenance has been any of the newer Apple machines with Mac OS X operating system, ie MacMini or iBook/iMac.\n\nThey're very compatible with Windows machines, MS Office is available, but so is OpenOffice which supports MS document formats if you wish to have a free alternative.\n\nOS X machines are also not susceptable to viruses or hacks in anywhere near the magnitude of Windows machines, so are far more stable and secure at present.\n\nDon't get me wrong, I love MS Windows & PCs, but Macs have really changed my perception of what a computer can be. \n\nHope this helps\nMJS
123121
Those should already be the defaults, so you\nshouldn't have to do anything.\n\nBy the way, that OS is somewhere in the ballpark\nof 15 years old.  I'm somewhat surprised to be\nseeing questions about it :-)  It might be worth\npointing out that the current release of Solaris\nas well as the compilers (including Fortran) are\navailable for free if you wish to upgrade.
88460
For sure it's not highly recommended. As the past learns us, the first releases of new Windows OS are pretty faulty. Wait and see.
18001
what operating system......ask and i will answer....
1162947
As long as you dont plan to use it as your sole operating system.  It still has its share of bugs...  enough that they've bumped the release date up to Spring 2007.  You'd definitely want to create a partition to install/run it on.