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Looking at Lycoris Desktop LX
By: bilbrey on 2002-05-02 09:55:00
Section 1 - Who and What IS Lycoris?

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Lycoris debuted in 2000 with a buzz-making new distribution name: Redmond Linux. When I first heard of it, two thoughts flashed through my mind. Is Microsoft dabbling in the waters, behind a thinly veiled front? Second, the implication here is strong interoperability with products sold by that more prominent Redmond corporate inhabitant. The latter is definitely a design goal for the distribution team. The former may be part of the reason for the branding change that happened this year.

The distribution is now touted as Lycoris Desktop/LX. However, what's publicly available is a lightly updated Redmond Linux, code-named Amethyst -- none of the new Lycoris branding is present. From reading in the forums on the Lycoris.org community site, it is apparent that the Lycoris branding will be prominently featured in the next edition in the Amethyst family, which is the pending Build 46 (Lycoris internal designation).

In 2000, I tested a couple of betas from what was then Redmond Linux. These were works in progress, with glitches galore, and some real gems in the making. Overall, at the time, I found that it was extremely significant that the installer they had chosen was not as stable as could be. For ease of use, installation must be flawless. Yet they had chosen the Lizard tool, which originated at Caldera. This may reflect the experience of Joe Cheek, Founder and CTO of Lycoris, since he was the co-author of a Caldera Linux book. (Small world, eh? See this Linux book, too!) Familiarity makes a good argument for choices.

Time has passed, and it's time to have a fresh look at the Linux distribution that's coming out of Microsoft's backyard. Herein I'll review the installation, security, desktop and applications in the current publicly available version of Lycoris Desktop/LX.

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