Xandros, the company behind the Linux distribution called Xandros OS, has launched a custom application store that will deliver digital content to any kind of Internet-connect device, agnostic of any sort of platform.

You may know of Xandros Linux; for many people exposure came through the Eee PC, with this being the distro chosen by Linux-turncoat ASUS. Yet, what is Xandros' stance on open source software? Might Xandros be a thinly-veiled Microsoft tout as Linspire reborn?

Xandros has spent the better part of a decade trying to take Linux to the masses and build itself up as a serious contender in the commercial Linux racket. And now, after the advent of Linux-based netbooks and an evolving new class of devices that are being dubbed smartbooks, Xandros is getting another chance at going mainstream and taking Linux with it.

In a surprising move, Microsoft and Linux distributor Xandros announced on Aug. 15 a messaging protocol license and collaboration agreement that will allow Scalix e-mail servers interoperability with Microsoft mobile- and PC-based e-mail applications.

The thing that's disappointing to me is that they all have their own Linux distribution. As a matter of fact, the Eee PC I talk about so much, comes with a custom version of Xandros that is based on Xandros and KDE.

Linux distributor Xandros along with NoMachine, maker of NX virtualization desktop, remote access and server management software, will announce on July 18 that NoMachine's NX Enterprise Server will start shipping immediately with Xandros Server 2.0.

"Xandros is a distribution of Linux descended from Debian and built on the Debian framework. Unlike Debian though, Xandros is built more with a profiteering mindset, a philosophy that has slowly alienated it from the Linux community, more so lately after their announced affiliation with Microsoft."

Xandros CEO Andreas Typaldos said Thursday his company did not agree that its Linux distribution violates any Microsoft patents nor did the software giant ask Xandros to do so as part of the patent cross-licensing deal the two signed Monday.

"It should be widely known by now. No matter why, when and where, join MS and you will be dead." Abe
Richard Hillesley has just published "The lost world of the Xandros desktop," which is an article that looks at Xandros' past and present.