A follow up to Lindows 2, an popular Linux distro that was released in 2002, lets see what has changed in this version.
It’s also an operating system that’s a pain to search for since both Google & Bing think it’s a type and keep correcting it to Windows.

VM Specifications

86Box 3.7.1

Motherboard: Micronics M7S-Hi
Processor: AMD K6 233Mhz
Video: S3 ViRGE/DX 2MB
Sound: Ensoniq AudioPCI
Network: AMD Pcnet-ISA+
SCSI: Adaptec AHA-154xA

The install process is typically the same as before, with the install being booted directly off the CD

Upon bootup we still get the same selection process.

Desktop, not much has changed, but when clicking the Lindows menu we see a slightly altered font
The menu itself holds the same layout as the previous distro, with bundled programs being placed in their own category to make organizing much more easier. Not all applications will install into this folder, Simcity 3000 for example creates its own games directory instead of using the one located in the game folder. This can lead to confusion as you have two of the same folders unless the user manually changes the directory upon installation.

It also means whilst the menu looks relatively tidy, it will become cluttered as more applications are installed.

Click-N-Run applications are present, although there are no major changes, with only a few minor updates. Netscape browser comes as the default internet browser which is the exact same version as the preious release.

Missing from this build is the Microsoft Office viewers, with only the basic Text editor remaining in the Business & Finance category. I guess Redmond brought out the lawyers.

The KDE file manager is modeled after Windows Explorer which should make it familiar to switching users. Konqueror version 3.0.1 is used.

When software crashes in Lindows, a crash handler comes up explaining what has happened.

Software

Since there isn’t much that’s changed compared to Lindows 2, let’s see what period-correct software we can use.

Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri – Seems to work well, installs successfully and the opening FMV plays with a bit of stuttering probably because of the CPU chosen. I do wonder if these early Linux games were well-optimized or just quick and dirty ports. There is a bit of slowdown at the start of a level which could be an issue with no graphics acceleration with the video card chosen ( S3 ViRGE)

Civilization Call to Power – Installs and works fine, this game seems to be less demanding than Alpha Centauri and runs a lot better.

Descent 3 – Installs fine, but when running it prompts you to insert disc 2 which is not recognized after mounting in 86Box. Clicking Ok seems to launch the game but the graphics are pixilated. Had to hard reset the VM to get back into the desktop, After rebooting the game loads and plays the opening FMV, but still has blocky graphics.

SimCity 3000 – Still non-functional

Star Office – An office suite by Sun Microsystems that installs and runs perfectly. It’s very similar to Microsoft Office or IBM Lotus SmartSuite in that it bundles a word processor, spreadsheet software and slide show into one package.
The interface tries to mimic Windows, there’s even a start menu present, along with a taskbar.

Postal – Installs and works fine but the menus run too fast. The demo sequence starts after 3 seconds meaning you need to quickly navigate the menu. Quitting the game seems to cause a graphics error.

Wordperfect – Installs correctly and appears in the application. Upon launching it shows a message advising not to run the application as root, and another in relation to a missing font server. Unable to progress past this point, even after a reboot it refused to run due to this missing font server.

Soldier of Fortune – Installed and ran fine, but required a CD key. I think this is the first time I’ve used Linux software that requires a CD key? Performance isn’t good, it runs so slow on this VM at nearly 1fps. Checking the readme file indicates it needs some sort of 3D accelerator, I guess it’s time to add a Voodoo card but I figure the CPU that we have (AMD K6 233Mhz) isn’t enough to cut it.

Shutting down