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Mandrake Linux... Not Dead Yet?
bloodeu writes "Mandrake Linux has been beaten down by linux experts alike, but this new release of Mandrake may hold many promising Linux users
what they have been waiting for, like NTFS resizing(which is a first), Automatic Network config(zeroconf), Supermount, and
many more. You can download the Mandrake 9.1 RC1 Here"
Um, okay. Maybe I've been out of the loop when it comes to Linux/NTFS compatibility. I thought we were still kinda' afraid to write to NTFS partitions. Now we can resize them.
Can someone please elaborate?
Yes, so it's the really simple distro for thickies and n00bs. It's also by far and away the easiest Linux distro to set up and use that I've tried (and I'm from the days of Yggdrasil, me) so it's my distro of choice - it has (or is easily made to have) all the power of "proper" distros but isn't as condescending as Lycoris and friends.
Mandrake should be kept alive, it would be a loss to the Linux world if it were to die.
-Mark
Now all the new stuff I"m looking forward to, zeroconf network, kde 3.1, gnome 2.2, XFree86 4.3, 4.21 kernel and a cornacopia of other programs, are in mandrake 9.1. While in the end I intend to move over to debian completely, IMO mandrake is the best of the others for me. I can't wait for 9.1 to become available.
I do security
So it's easy, when is the linux community going to drop this attitude of "Linux is supposed to be hard".
In the last three weeks I've tried RedHat 8.0(too slow on a 366mhz machine), Yopper, Knoppix (lots of stuff) and Mandrake 9.0. Of them all, I'm using mandrake. Why? because everything worked, first time, everytime. So I went out and bought a copy. Voting with my wallet, the easiest thing to do. I hope they make it out of Chapter 11 or whatever the french equivalent is. They're providing the gateway to make it easier to switch, without the cost overhead that Lindows requires.
~corporate tool, but employed~
Since some posts appear to be made in ignorance of this fact, Mandrake apparently is no longer going to be the best distro to freeload off of.
Only members will be able to download the new version, or order cheap cd sets when it is first released. Depending on what kind of member you are (I am a Silver member) will determine what kind of bandwidth priority you get. I think the free download version for 9.1 will only be available after the package version is in stores for a while. Maybe the free download to the public will not even be available until the first RC of the next distro is out.
Complain all you want, but you brought this upon yourself. I became a member and was willing to let my membership fees go, in part, to allowing freeloaders download at the same time as everyone else. However, there were too many of you and too few of me, so now if you don't want to pay but want the newest version you will have to just use an RC (sounds fair to me).
Anyway, Mandrake not being dead is not news to me or any other members. It is just news to the people who don't care enough to get involved. Why such people would even care about weither Mandrake is dead or not eludes me.
Sdelat' Ameriku velikoy Snova!
Just because it is available for free doesn't mean there isn't some merit in paying for it sometimes. I won't go up on some soap box about how "every download is a dagger in free software's heart" because that would be absurd. Free downloads are what spur the rapid discovery, reporting and repair of bugs as well as bring noobs into the fold. 95% of the noobs I've brought over have been swayed with the logic "Hey, no risk to try it other than the download time..."
But at the same time, if you get good use out of Mandrake, (or any distribution) the best support you can give them is to vote with your dollars. Spend some money on Mandrake services or products. Buy a t-shirt... I bet your girlfriend would look smashing in a "Mandrake Club" t-shirt... (Is that the geek equivalent of having her wear your football jersey?)
Who did what now?
- Mandrake (afaik) was the first and so far only Linux distro to be sold as a standalone product in Walmart, and I bought several versions there (as the king of Swamp Castle says "... just to show 'em!"). Software specifics aside, this is another good reason to be grateful to Mandrake, whether you use their distro or not. Lindows was *not* the first Walmart-associated Linux :) [And I could be wrong -- perhaps they also had Red Hat, dunno.]
While my example is not Wal-Mart, but, FYI, I used to be able to buy Red Hat and Mandrake from Best Buy. As a matter of fact, I have still have the "Linux-Mandrake 7.2 Professional Suite" box set I bought from Best Buy. I believe that I have seen SUSE available at Best Buy as well. Now, mind you, the choices available at Best Buy have dwindled I think, but I know at least Red Hat is still available. (Right next to all the M$ stuff). Best Buy actually tried to keep a decent selection at one time... I remember BeOS (yes you read that right) on the shelf next to Red Hat, when BeOS was still kicking.
That isn't a knock at Mandrake (surprisingly), that's a knock at all the other distributions. (Especially RedHat.)
How many years has NTFS resizing software been around? Quite a few! I do remember resizing (and sliding!) NTFS partitions back in the day. Had to use some shareware to do it, too, thanks to the lack of functionality in both fdisk and RedHat's Disk Druid.
Considering how important MS-based operating systems are to the business world (If you think otherwise, you're an idiot. End of story.), that RedHat would have added NTFS resize/slide functionality to their install process. I mean, they're supposed to be the 'business' distro and all.
*snert* Maybe Mandrake's work on it will beat RH and other distributions with the clue stick.
I admit I'm a noob, but I haven't had very good luck with 9.1 so far. I desperately want to run a Linux desktop and I'd heard Mandrake was the easiest (which it still may be for all I know - just because it's hard for me doesn't mean the others aren't harder). But so far, here are the problems I've had starting with 9.0 and now actually getting worse in 9.1:
1. Network doesn't work. This is new in 9.1 RC1. It worked in the betas and in 9.0, but doesn't in RC1. I have heard various workarounds but being a noob haven't really tried getting my hands dirty yet. It detects my card but does not connect to the net, and will not even connect to my router (so it's not just an internet thing).
2. Font import doesn't work. This has never worked for me, in any Mandrake release. I have pared my Windows fonts down to the minimum and it still hangs at various points during the import - hangs to the point where I need to restart the system in order to kill the process.
3. Mounting of pretty much anything other than the Linux partition on my hard drive takes about 10 minutes, as does doing any operation at all once mounted. This includes simply listening to a CD, or browsing my pictures on my Windows partition. Again, just trying to listen to a CD last night necessitated a reboot.
Any one of these is almost enough to get me to give up on Linux as a whole for now. Windows, for now, is much more useful as a desktop, however "easy" Mandrake is to use. I've spent almost 100% of my time with Mandrake so far just trying to get it set up, and I still can't get some pretty important things to work at all. I hope Mandrake and other distros continue to improve to the point where a newbie like me can actually use them, but I don't think we're at that point yet.
Mandrake huh? I remember when I walked into a friend's apartment and asked what that strange looking Windowing System was. KDE was the response; KDE included with the Mandrake Distribution of Linux. I believe it was version 5 at the time.
So intrigued I was that, upon my return home, I downloaded and installed Mandrake right away. I was hooked. Having never used Linux before, I immediately downloaded Debian as well and started reading about this strange little kernel called Linux. So whilst I read all I could about Debian, I used Mandrake, learning far more in the using than in the reading. I in fact never got Debian to work they way I wanted and continued to use only Mandrake.
My self-owned small business signed on with Mandrake to become Quebec's only distributor of the Power Pack series (at the time.) It was here that I ran into trouble. I was caught between my love of the distribution, and the hatred of their distribution system. I was forced to pre-buy large quantities of boxed Power Packs. I never got rid of a version set without having to buy more of the new version set. When all was said and done, and I was ready to give up the ghost, I had leftover power packs of 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 7.0, 7.1 and 7.2. Altogether I had spent over $1000K on Linux Mandrake Power Packs. I never made a cent, and in fact lost plenty. There was no response from any Mandrake offices; complaints and questions remained unanwered. Additionally, it took them several years to get my name of their list of resellers.
So here I find myself, years later, introduced to Linux and the OpenSource community by then-little Linux Mandrake. I still have a Mandrake-based Linux install running at my home. The distro has been modified heavily and possibly retains little resemblance to any known Mandrake products but that's how it started. I have now used many OSes that would not have made their way into my life without Mandrake. I recently discovered the joys of the BSD OSes, all thanks to Mandrake.
As much as I would like to say that I will be forever indebted to Linux Mandrake, the fact is that MandrakeSoft is really endebted to people who took a real hit early on simply because they loved the distribution so much. Although they have continued to put out a very useful distribution one has to wonder how other projects (with a much smaller bankroll) have survived and prospered.
Nonetheless, I will still recommend Mandrake to anyone who asks, and proudly exclaim it still remains part of my home network. My previous finacial and promotional support met with no rewards and even less satisfaction. They seem unable to run a economically viable ship and as has been the case with many other companies producing good products, tough luck. I do hope they survive, and I hope people have had a better experience with the business side of things than I have. Their product opens up a world of possibilites for those who want an easy-to-use and inexpensive alternative to the costly but widely accepted operating systems for the x86 platform. I wish them luck in their future endeavours.