| Corel Linux | |
|---|---|
 Screenshot of Corel Linux runningWordPerfect andNetscape Navigator | |
| Developer | Corel |
| OS family | Linux (Unix-like) |
| Working state | Discontinued |
| Initial release | November 15, 1999 (1999-11-15) |
| Latest release | Second Edition / August 15, 2000 |
| Supported platforms | IA-32 |
| Kernel type | Monolithic |
| Default user interface | CDE (variant ofKDE) |
Corel Linux, also calledCorel LinuxOS, was aDebian-basedoperating system made byCorel that began beta testing on September 21, 1999[1] and was released to the public on November 15, 1999. It mainly competed againstWindows 98 andWindows 2000 byMicrosoft, plusMac OS 9 byApple, and against other Linux distributions such asMandrake Linux andRed Hat Linux. Corel later discontinued the distribution, but did not remove the former Corel Open Source Development website until March 2002.
Corel did not use KFM, the standardKDEfile manager. It instead used its own file manager, CFM. This, along with other modifications Corel made, made the operating system incompatible with other versions of Linux much more than other competitors in the industry. At a time when there was relatively little commercial Linux software available, this was a serious hurdle for Corel and its users.
The operating system's Second Edition was released on August 15, 2000, in download, regular and deluxe editions. The latter bundled CorelWordPerfect Office for Linux.
Xandros purchased the Corel Linux source code and development team when Corel scrapped its Linux business in August 2001.
| Minimum | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Pentium (P5) or compatible/newer | |
| Memory | 24 MB ofRAM | At least 64 MB of RAM |
| Video adapter and monitor | VGA (640 x 480) or higher resolution with 2 MB ofVRAM | |
| Hard disk drive free space | 500 MB for initial release 800 MB for Second Edition | |
| Optical drive | CD-ROM drive[a] (only to install from CD-ROM media) | |
| Input devices | Keyboard, mouse or a compatible pointing device | |
| Sound | Sound card andSpeakers orheadphones (only for sound playback) | |
Corel Linux featured a file manager that was very close in look and feel toWindows Explorer. The file manager provided an integrated Windows SMBnetwork browser. The company also advertised that the operating system was compatible with its flagship software.
The key selling point of Corel Linux was its compatibility with the company's WordPerfect applications. The eponymous word processor's eighth version was given away to personal customers in the hopes that they would purchase WordPerfect Office 2000. This suite added theQuattro Pro,Corel Presentations and CorelCentral programs. The Deluxe version of that suite added theParadox database manager andRailroad Tycoon II: Gold. The latter omits a level editor, the network mode and some scenarios from the original game. The 'Limited Edition' of Corel Linux Deluxe came withCivilization: Call to Power instead of Railroad Tycoon II.[4] Unlike the free WordPerfect 8, the office suite was not written natively for Linux, but instead consisted of the Windows programs powered by Corel's fork of theWinecompatibility layer.[5][6] As a result, the Linux suite suffered from a performance penalty compared to the Windows version of WordPerfect 8.[7][8]
As with the WordPerfect suite, Corel adapted its graphics applications to run on Linux using Wine.[9] This consisted of theCorelDraw (stylized CorelDRAW) suite. While the eponymous program was paid software,Corel Photo-Paint was available as a free download.
CorelSmartMove was a part of Corel Linux. This application provided the following:
SmartMove was built around theWine libraries to read theWindows Registry settings for the Windows applications and thus be able to migrate them. SmartMove core libraries created a wrapper for the Windows registry to easily look up the settings.
SmartMove looks for existingMicrosoft Windows installations on the machine, looks a little further for individual users, and offers to transfer application settings to analogous programs under Linux. It understands how to deal withInternet Explorer andNetscape cookies and bookmarks,Microsoft Outlook,mIRC, andICQ settings, and a variety of desktop preferences, including wallpaper, color scheme, and even mouse "handedness". We tried it out with a few settings, but since our Windows installation was fairly new, we didn't have much to check against.[10]
With the death of Corel Linux, this application faded away and is no longer maintained, however similar functionality is now available on at least Ubuntu when installing a dual-boot configuration on a machine that already has Windows on it.[11]
