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Newest Mandrake Linux Delayed
Jens Lönn writes: "Linux seller MandrakeSoft has had to delay shipment of its newest version of Linux because of problems in moving manufacturing to the United States. Mandrake Linux 8.1 is available as a download, but the first CDs of the product were supposed to ship by the end of September. "Getting 8.1 production up and running in North America has been a slow and expensive process," the company said in a e-mail message to those who have ordered the CD." Since Mandrake makes certains things so easy (smooth installation), I hope they soon get their newest release again on Walmart shelves across the U.S.
Very smooth installation...until you mistakingly think the grey colored stars meant selected and format the wrong hard drives :(
There is no shortage of U.S. firms capable of packaging software and Mandrake's delay in getting their product to market could have dire consequences. The entire Linux distribution market is in a precarious position. Their business model is predicated on most potential customers not having the bandwidth to download multiple CDs, but with cable modems (and DSL connections) finding their way into more and more homes, many people are finding that downloading 1-5 CDs is no big deal. Start it up, wait a few hours or go to bed, burn them the next day.
Add a delay to the availability of a boxed distribution and suddenly people are asking their friends with high-speed connections to download and burn a set of CDs for them. Some that would have paid for a retail copy will now download it themselves rather than wait for it to appear on store shelves.
The only hope that I see for the Linux distro market in the near future is to switch over to DVDs since most people currently lack the capability of burning DVDs from images.
I have a friend who was employed in the "electronics" department at Wal-Fart.
While stocking shelves one day, a co-slave looked at him and said
"What the H*LL is this [the Mandrake box]."
My friend attempted to explain
"So it's like Windows. Isn't that illegal."
My friend now works at Pizza-Hut.
Go not unto/. for advice, for you will be told both yea and nay (but have nothing to do with the question)
the release of Linux Mandrake 8.1, aggressively timed to coincide with that of Microsoft's much vaunted Windows XP, marks the start of the final battle for domination of the computer industry.
The Linux operating system was born in 1991 and was created by one man, a Finnish student coincidentally named Linux Torvalds.
Previous versions of Linux have been named Red Hat, Slack Ware, Storm and Coral. In stark contrast to the mundane names such as 98, ME or NT preferred by Microsoft, the crazy names of each Linux release hint at its renegade nature.
why isn't the industry standard web browser, Internet Explorer, included with Linux? Despite the best efforts of the experts at the Internet Engineering Task Force to encourage adoption of the Internet Explorer standard, the creators of Linux seem to think that they know better.
But here's the dead giveaway:
Computer security is also an area that seems to have been overlooked by the developers of Linux. In these times when hacking and viruses are commonplace, it defies belief to learn that no anti-virus software is available for Linux. To add insult to injury, there is no Linux version of the popular ZoneAlarm firewall. By using Linux, you are issuing an open invitation to the hordes of ne'er-do-wells on the Internet.
The shortcomings of Linux are obvious. Without even installing Linux Mandrake, I have exposed several fundamental flaws.
As with most Satire, the danger lies in the unwashed masses taking it literally...
m00.
Just so you know, there is a pretty significant difference between versions of packages marketed by Mandrake. The "download edition" doesn't nearly include all the software, or even quite the same install, as the commercial versions, which bundle Star Office, Real Player, and a host of other useful, but non-free, applications.
I highly recommend buying an off-the-shelf version and comparing it to the version you downloaded. It's rather enlightening, and it's tough to go back to the "download edition" afterward.
Matthew P. Barnson
I learn what I think when I read what I write