There’s a new OS in town no matter what your preferences

Vendor Product Target Pros Cons\ Price Windows

Microsoft Corp. Windows XP Business, Is extremely stable and reliable; features multiprocessor sup- Expensive, some security $299; $199 for Redmond, Wash. Professional high-end port, advanced networking and remote control features, flaws, extremely stringent upgrade from 800-426-9400 Edition enterprise mobile and wireless network support, good digital media licensing policies for indi- , 98 SE, www..com Windows XP users support, improved Internet tools, advanced security, good vidual users, useful mainly Me, NT 4.0 or 2000; Home Edition Personal, device/application compatibility, Hibernate mode, built-in for fast PCs with lots of $125 for upgrade small Internet firewall, enhanced search capabilities RAM and memory from XP Home edi- business tion users A subset of XP Professional with most of its benefits, streamlined Luna interface, user-friendly Network Wizard, Fast User Switching, good CD and CD-RW burn capabilities

Personal, A subset of XP Professional with most of its benefits, Fewer networking features Windows XP small business streamlined Luna interface, user-friendly Network Wizard, than XP Pro, lacks suffi- $199; $99 for Home Edition users Fast User Switching, good CD and CD-RW burn capabilities cient mobile computer and upgrade from wireless support, lacks full Windows 98, 98 SE, suite of administration tools Me, NT 4.0, 2000 Macintosh Apple Computer Inc. Mac OS X 10.1 Macintosh Improved performance, Internet-based, good DVD and CD Not many native applications $129 Cupertino, Calif. users burning, good support for digital cameras, compatibility with 408-996-1010 Windows networks, new Finder tools, movable dock www.apple.com Linux Caldera Systems Inc. OpenLinux Desktop Includes Borland Software Corp.'s Jbuilder Foundation and Not for beginners $59; $99 for installa- Orem, Utah Workstation 3.1 users, system Sun Microsystems Inc.'s Forte Java development environ- tion via e-mail 801-765-4999 developers ments; full-function applications development system www.caldera.com OpenLinux Server-based E-commerce and secure-server packages, good server/work- Expensive, limited third-party $599; $799 for Server 3.1 networks station integration, powerful enterprise-level network man- application support installation via e-mail agement features, bundled office applications, secure ver- sion of Webmin for remote server configuration

The Project Debian GNU/Linux Experienced Strong suite of development tools and utilities; Advanced Not for beginners Freeware (A community of 2.2 Linux users Package Tool (APT) used to add, update and remove soft- users with no specif- ware via CDs or online ic address; contact information available from Web site.) www.debian.org

MandrakeSoft Inc. Mandrake Linux Small and Enterprise kernel 2.4.8 with SMP and Hi-Memory support; Lacks extensive $149 Altadena, Calif. ProSuite Edition medium-sized user-friendly, journalized file systems; Webserver, firewall and administration tools 626-296-6290 8.1 business router, extended server support; has DrakX GUI installer, auto- www. users mated server management, auto-install mandrakesoft.com Mandrake Linux Desktop and Includes complete Internet, office and development software; Lacks extensive $69 PowerPack workstation comprehensive installation and user guide, multimedia sup- administration tools Edition 8.1 users port, server deployment, easy-to-use wizards, customized configuration tools, thousands of commercial and open- source applications

Red Hat Inc. Red Hat Linux Advanced For professional workstations and servers; enterprise kernel Not for beginners $200 Research Triangle Professional 7.2 users, devel- 2.4.8 with SMP and Hi-Memory support; includes user- Park, N.C. opers friendly journalized file systems, GUI configuration tools, 919-547-0012 and Apache Web servers, complete file, print and e-mail www.redhat.com servers, and StarOffice 5.2

Red Hat Linux 7.2 Technical Includes improved device security, new GUIs, Nautilus file Not for beginners $60 workstation manager, easy installation, network configuration tool for users easy Internet connections, user management tool for user system administration, hardware viewing tool for quick sys- tem inspection

SuSe Inc. SuSe Linux Advanced Features stable, easy-to-use interface, good multimedia sup- Not for beginning or $80 Oakland, Calif. Professional 7.3 home users port, network and Internet support, strong user privacy fea- intermediate users 510-628-3380 and IT profes- tures, thousands of third-party and open-source applica- www.suse.com sionals tions, built-in RAID, virus scanner; configures Network Information Service servers and clients; provides excellent $40 documentation

SuSE Linux Linux new- Bundled with Navigator 6.1, Sun StarOffice, Very basic beginners Personal 7.3 comers Acrobat reader, GIMP image processing, lots of games, good package multimedia support, processes most common file formats

Turbolinux Inc. Turbolinux Server Enterprise Preconfigured core workstation and server versions for dif- Online documentation, for $200 Brisbane, Calif. 7.0 markets ferent enterprise applications, powerful security features, serious users only 650-228-5000 strong utilities suite, flexible disk volume management, multi- www.turbolinux.com language support, international certification

Xandros Corp. Linux OS Beginning and has taken over Corel Corp.’s Linux business; OS is Limited support (Xandros is $15 Ottawa Standard Second intermediate easy to set up and user-friendly, supports servers as well as building its own OS, based 613-842-3494 Edition 3.0 users desktops, auto-detects hardware, has a browser-style file on Corel.) www.xandros.net manager, good multimedia features

Server OS 1.0 Enterprise Built on Corel Linox, features enhanced security, scalability Not yet released Not yet released markets and interoperability with Linux/Unix and Windows; SOAP- based management tools code-named DaVinci