Customer Reviews

Linux-Mandrake Complete 7.0

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I am new in computing. I just finished setting up Win 98 and Linux in my computer. I have just used both for a few weeks.

Win 98 has already crashed on me 3 times in 3 weeks. Linux-Mandrake 7 has not. I must say though, that I tried about 5 other Linux distros that would not recognize some hardware components, including Linux-Mandrake 6.5.

Linux-Mandrake 7 is the first Linux distro that recognized all the hardware on 2 computers.

This latest version is much improved and offers a lot. Lacking computing experience, I -at least initially- feel that connecting to the Internet and program installation in Linux needs to be further simplified.

Nevertheless, I feel Linux has great potential and I may make it my standard OS. It is flexible, powerful, cheap and stable (initial experience). I urge all Linux vendors to further simplify Linux and voice the need for more apps.

And to those that are afraid of Linux, I'll say fear no more. By year's end, predictably, most Linux distros, should have advanced to the point of being accessible to M$ Windows users.

A Linux newbie (2-15-2001).

Having used Linux for several years-- I tend to feel that regardless of the distribution I'm using that I'm knowledgeable enough to get things set up. That being said, I do recommend Mandrake Linux, especially for people getting started out, as it takes *most* if not all of the pain out of Linux installation and configuration. (Note that I'm referring specifically to the most RECENT Mandrake releases and not some of the earlier ones.) I think Drax (the Mandrake graphical configuration tool) is a pleasant environment and the installation routine compares *very* favorably with some other distributions (Take S.u.S.E.'s YaST for instance and YaST2 which is supposedly improved --which seems to be stepping backwards rather than forwards in recent S.u.S.E. releases).

Mandrake comes with a wealth of the latest applications and the latest desktop (Gnome and KDE) and window managers (Raster and Mandrake's "Enlightenment" seems to be the vogue these days), kernel, libraries etc. And after using Redhat, S.u.S.E., and Slakware (what I began with) I was very impressed with the sheer ease of installing Mandrake and the smoothness of the implementation in comparison to something like S.u.S.E, for instance. (Don't get me wrong-- there are many good distributions and S.u.S.E. isn't bad I just feel that they have been slipping lately and my comments aren't so much aimed at the veteran user but at people looking for advice who are just starting out.)

To hardcore users-- that know Linux and have used it before, it becomes an issue more of taste and detail. But to the beginning Linux user, I would recommend Mandrake because it makes life easy with initial installation because of its ability to autodetect hardware and has included features and programs that will make life easier for people exploring a platform transition or alternative. (The use of "Supermount" to automount partitions at boot time is a nice touch -- vs "mount -t vfat /dev/hda1 /Windows" etc. and tools like "sndconfig" (derived from Mandrake's "RedHat" origins) which in many cases will autodetect the sound card without requiring you to worry about rebuilding kernels or understanding modules right off to get your card going)

So far the main knock I've heard against Mandrake is that the manual leaves much to be desired-- so beginners might want to invest in a respectable text outside of the core distribution as a "just in case'-- something like Matt Welsh's "Running Linux" (the most recent version) would be a good choice.

Mandrake 7.0 was the first Linux distribution to recognize all of my hardware right out of the box. I've used all of the major distributions -- Mandrake since 6.0. Mandrake has really grown up in 7.0 and is no longer just "RedHat with features". I recommend this to anyone from a user new to Linux to an experience Linux user.

I am new to the linux world, but I've been using Windows for several years now and consider myself well versed in computing functions. I decided to give Linux a try. I first tried Caldera which worked fine but I found out about Mandrake by reading reviews in a magazine. Mandrake 7.0 was definitely easy to install. It detected my laptop components except the pcmcia slot. Partitioning with their Drak program was also very easy. Upon installation the first question asks if you want pcmcia support (or something like that) I answered yes and the installation froze. I rebooted and then answered no to this question and the installation proceeded fine. It even detected my printer. I wanted mandrake for the supermount feature and for it's auto detect feature. For those of you that don't know you have to mount your floppy and cdrom drives in order for linux to read them. You also have to unmount to release the media. When your loading disk after disk this can get tiring. The supermount feature would be a welcomed change. I didn't get to experience the features of mandrake because the program froze on me as it was decompressing. I reported my problems to Mandrake and tech support did respond to my dilemma within 24 hours. I haven't gotten past this glitch yet though. I may have to revert back to Caldera. If your curious go to Mandrake's site because they have great screenshots of the installation process and screenshots of the various desktop managers, kde, gnome, windowmaker, etc.

it was ok distro in 2001 but today? It has none of the drivers for todays computing, it is not even supported for last 5 years! Get Mandriva instead.

Linux-Mandrake 7.0 is arcaic now, (Red Hat Linux 7.3 and Linux-Mandrake 8.2 are much better) I couldn't get on the internet with this version. Upside: 7.0 is fast on arcaic computers.

If you're buying this box for the support or buying support from Mandrake, then forget it. I couldn't even get the installation disk to boot (something to do with Mandrake having problems with a DVD ROM, despite the fact that every other Linux distribution disk I tried worked), and a request for support only led to a rather dense suggestion and then a referral of my problem to "level 3 support". The latter never responded, not once, not to say "your problem is progressing", not even a "your problem is too hard". Of course "level 3 support" is /dev/null.

I found the Linux Mandrake to be a wonderful operating system even for the beginner. The installation was easier than Windows 98 and took half the time to install. The Mandrake comes loaded with hundreds of applications including Sun's Star Office which to me now is a must have. (I could write a whole other review about Star Office.) For the Linux newbee I would suggest to know what componets you have in your computer and cross reference them with the Mandrake web site to see if they are supported. Also read the documentation before you install and if you can afford it, give Linux its own hard drive. However if you don't have the luxuary of having a second hard drive, Linux Mandrake can prove to be a good neighbor with Windows. I would recommend this OS to anyone who is willing to learn and wants to try something new. I have tried other flavors of Linux and so far the Mandrake has proved to be my favorite.

I bought Linux with high exceptations, however when I got home and tried to install it took several hours and when I got to the X - Windows config screen in the DRAKX installer my system froze and would have to reinstall Lynux all over again. On the third time I got the config to work, but found myself at the UNIX command line. Having absolutly no experience with UNIX I was confused. After trying a few things about the only thing I could do was to log on and access a help file. Big Deal.

(ignore my earlier review.)
I found I had made a slight mis-configeration in the setup program, which is why I didn't work. Now of course Linux is my operating system and it is working quite nicely, The problem above was all human error and failure to read the instructions. After reading the manual I discovered what I did wrong and corrected it.

I really don't care for Windows but, it is all I know and have ever used. That makes me a "Newbie" to Linux. Most of the install went very trouble free with the exception of the last step, Configure X. The drivers for the Intel 810 Chipset for graphics are not there nor was My make of Monitor(HP Pavilion-M50). I am having to settle for less than optimum resolution, 640 x 480 in 16-color. This makes for an enormous graphical user interface and very unpleasant work environment. Sure, there are drivers out there to fix this. However, when you know very little about an operating system and the function there of, you are at a pretty big disadvantage in getting the bugs worked out. The reason I was going to Linux was to learn a little about UNIX, and do away with the buggy Windows 9x. If a person, new to Linux, has trouble the first day with install and getting everything setup, it can be a real downer. I really want to learn the Linux OS, and I will but, not before there is a trial by fire to get everything working correctly. If you are new to Linux be prepared for fixes, bug reports, etc... Upside, the fixes are free for the most part, unlike Windows. Downside, you will have to know something about UNIX before attempting a fix. I am sure that all the Linux-UNIX purist will slam this review. Just remember, I am new to Linux and I speak from a beginner's view point. Not someone who has several years of experience using Linux-Unix, under their belt.