Xandros is based, like Ubuntu, on Debian GNU/Linux, the ultimate community distribution of Linux, but lives by a very different ethos.

Xandros has moved at its own pace, offering solutions from desktop to server, with the objective of "selling Linux into a Windows world."

There was a short-lived community edition of Xandros, but for the most part Xandros has given the impression of keeping itself to itself, concentrating on its partnerships and enterprise sales, selling a boxed edition based on ageing but stable versions of Debian, and cranking up EOM deals with the likes of Asus - remaining on the sidelines of the Linux world, all but imperceptible to Linux users, except when it has broken ranks, to appear on the Asus Eee PC or to sign an unfriendly 'patent covenant' with Microsoft.

The distribution is 'Windows-like', neatly configured, easy to use and popular with its own particular band of devotees, but contains proprietary extensions and an all but moribund release cycle.

The 'patent covenant' with Microsoft has had a detrimental effect on Xandros' ongoing relationships with the Linux user and developer communities. Ostensibly the purpose of the deal with Microsoft was to licence protocols to enable Xandros' BridgeWays and Scalix products to work with Microsoft networks.