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Mandrake 7.2 Beta (Ulysses) Released
dclatfel writes "Just wanted to let everyone know that the latest beta of
Mandrake for Intel is up - 7.2 Beta - and it's called
Ulysses. (Now where is that Golden Fleece?)" They've got notes regarding it as well - KDE 2 Beta 4, and Gnome 1.2, as well as XFree86 4.01 as the default X server.
> Does compiling for i386 exact a peformance hit on Pentiums, and if so, why the hell do it?
Basically, compiling a program for i386 won't DECREASE the performance on the Pentium (vs the i386); but the same executable will be able to run on a Pentium and on a 80386. (that's the advantage of compiling for i386). Now, the downside: when compiling for i386 instead of Pentiums, you don't use the new instructions of the Pentium chips (that are not present on i386). These new instructions (which can optimize some part of you code by allowing your compiler to use some new assembly instructions) will make the code faster since they have been optimized in the hardware.
Mario.
*sigh* And yet MORE fud.
Mandrake is *not* Redhat simply because it uses rpms. That's like saying Corel is Debian because it uses debs.
Really? I bet I can teach a totaly newbie to install updated EAX drivers faster than you can teach them to install ALSA! I bet I teach that same person to install the Windows Detonator3 drivers much faster than you can teach them to dl the RPMS, bull with the .so files, and edit XF86Config to get them working. I can install my scanner faster in Windows (just put in the disc when it asks) Of course they're both about as easy to USE, but that's because KDE is so similar to Windows. The problem comes when you don't have an IT staff behind you to help you do things like add hardware or reconfigure something. It is pretty easy to walk someone through an install of DSL and NAT on Windows. Would you really want to do the same on Linux? As far as I can tell, going from dialup to DSL requires a little bit of CLI, and NAT absolutely requires CLI.
A deep unwavering belief is a sure sign you're missing something...
7.1 has offers different levels of security on install (which changes things like directory permissions, among others)
I believe the security options are similar to:
a) Welcome Crackers
b) Low Security
c) Medium Security
d) High Security
e) Paranoid
With my Mandrake 7.0 install, I chose 'Paranoid' because, well, I'm extremely paranoid about security.
This caused no end of trouble for me because of the ultra-restrictive directory permissions it slapped on everything. For months (as a nonprivileged user) I ran into programs I couldn't run, global application config files I couldn't read, and devices I couldn't access. I finally got most everything straightened out, but I still run into an occasional glitch because of the settings.
Things may have improved since 7.0, but I would caution you that this may happen if you choose 'paranoid'. I'm choosing 'high' when I install 7.2.
Otherwise, I've found it to be quite stable, and yes, a bit bloated.
I would describe Mandrake as a heavily tweaked desktop distribution that installs the latest bleeding-edge versions of just about everything, including lots of applications you never knew existed.
I would never run Mandrake on a server. Bleeding edge + tons of unnecessary packages = security risk, IMO.
--
Practical considerations are beside the point. Don't you feel unclean running 386 code on a Pentium III?
hang on... information wants to be free, right? the price of freedom is eternal vigilance? Does this imply that the price of information is eternal vigilance?
Window upgrade: $99
Mandrake 7.2 download: Eternal Vigilance
I think I'll wait till boxing day when it's marked down to "casual observation"
2 1337 4 u!
Somebody got their mythology wrong. Ulysses is the Roman name for Odysseus, the protagonist of the Odyssey, who had an epic journey around the Mediterranean after the Trojan War. The Golden Fleece was the object of Jason and the Argonauts.
Switch the . and the @ to email me.
I would definitely recommend Mandrake to anyone new to Linux. Sure, it isn't the most stable distribution, but compared to Windows, it's a rock. The installation is beautiful - and newbies feel comfortable with it. I've tried several distros (RedHat/Mandrake/Storm/Debian) and Mandrakes is the easiest to use by far. It's not the quickest, but it will get it up and going.
.debs - you just can't go wrong. No downloading RPMs to find you need *another* rpm. Debian's package management is definitely the easiest to master for the newbie.
My beef with it is the update system. It's confusing - and they often include things that can crump a system - like the kernel updates (rpms) that could munge a ReiserFS system. These kinds of things are not good - especially when the end user is a novice and expects these updates to work. Of course, updating a kernel by an rpm isn't the wisest thing to do, but newbies don't necessarilly know that.
What I would *love* to see a distro do is use Mandrake's installer with Debian's package management. I just installed Debian - and while the install wasn't terribly complicated - there were several annoyances that a newbie wouldn't be able to overcome - things like pnp configuration (automagic under mandrake) - X configuration (not as slick as Mandrakes - and I've had to modify some config files by hand) - and sound configuration. These are all relatively small obsticals for someone familiar with linux, but they are show-killers for newbies.
But - apt-get. Oh man, what a program! This is the killer app of Debian. Something isn't working? You see the error message - packageX is missing. Please install before running ProgramY. With apt-get and the
Hopefully, someone will mix the LM installer with the Debian package management - and _THAT_ will be the killer distro...
Linux - Because Mommy taught me to Share.
I recently tried out 2.4.0-test7 with the patch for Reiserfs 3.6.14, and it seemed to work fine.
I'll download the iso for 7.2 tomorrow and see what is there. In the meantime, if anybody knows what is really in 7.2 beta 1, please let us know. Like, which kernel 2.4.0-testX, is it really? And, which version of Reiserfs is supplied? For some benchmarks, test5 seems to be a temporary high water mark.
Isn't the whole idea of a distro to be a tailor made version of linux. If you want to run Linux on a i486 as a router then don't use Mandrake. Considering that the majority of people running Linux are running it on i686's, Mandrake has made a decision to capitilize on that. Distributions of Linux don't have to be flexible becuase there are 80 zillion of them. Just pick the right one for your needs.
The Information Revolution will be fought on the command line.