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MandrakeSoft Exits Bankruptcy

Posted by michael on from the free-as-a-bird dept.

joestar writes "It's official now: the Court has approved Mandrakesoft's exit plan from the Chapter 11-like protection status. This seems to be the result of the recently announced profitability of the company, and means that Mandrakesoft is now fully back to normal activities. Great news for the Open Source community and Mandrake Linux users! All details are available in an online PR."

63 of 233 comments (clear)

  1. Just more proof... by The_Mystic_For_Real · · Score: 3, Insightful

    that open source software truly is a profitable industry!

    --

    _____

    Thank you.

    1. Re:Just more proof... by Knight+Thrasher · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Zing! This is so very true though. The software might be free... but you can bet your sweet wallet the support is not! (But since when is that news for the software world?)

    2. Re:Just more proof... by TheWanderingHermit · · Score: 4, Insightful

      As one of my relatives used to always say:

      Speak not of what you know not

      And it's clear you know not, or know nothing of bankruptcy.

      Mandrake was under re-organization bankruptcy. They will be paying all their debts. They had to submit plans for payments at least once (I don't know the system in France), either when declaring, or when exiting -- They could not get out of bankruptcy status without having a plan approved by the court and all their creditors for paying off their creditors.

      A large percentage of my clients are bankruptcy and consumer advocacy lawyers. There's a lot more to it than you, in your need to be a smart ass, make it out to be.

    3. Re:Just more proof... by globalar · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You don't have to maintain a business model around open source software to take Mandrakesoft as an example. Mandrake has taken time to develope a community of loyal users, who have good reason to be loyal. Their distribution is nice and improves Linix for the enduser (IMO). Businesses should learn the power of user-based community.

      The fact that this community can get as involved as they can (this being open source software), is critical of course.

    4. Re:Just more proof... by 13Echo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      More proof that people will pay to sustain the things that they believe in. They will pay to keep it alive, even if they can have it for free. Any daily user of a good Linux distribution can see the value in sustaining its maintainers.

      Open source is a still a pretty new concept to many. I think that it was just a matter of time before traditional "brick and mortar" rules stopped applying. It took some time, but the system is starting to catch on. You don't need to go to the store to support your favorite Linux distro. Mandrake club and online payment systems have proven that.

    5. Re:Just more proof... by TheWanderingHermit · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I won't bother with most of what you say, since it's (as Shakespeare said), "..full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." (And yes, I'm implying that the first part of that line, which I didn't quote, applies to you.)

      If you've been keeping up with the story and if you knew as much as you want everyone to think you know, then you would have read the article that was on /. a while back where a Mandrake employee talked about the repayment plans and how it would take them years to repay everyone they owe.

      Stopping payments is what they do going into bankruptcy. Then they get protection, so they can reorganize, then, if they can come back, they do better, their creditors get paid after all, and everyone is better off.

      Otherwise they can not file, get no protection, get sued by everyone, go out of business, and they lose, their creditors get screwed, and their customers are left without a product.

      But that's not the point here. You're more interested in bitching and trolling than in participating in an intelligent discussion.

  2. Who cares if they're Frencch? by wardomon · · Score: 5, Insightful

    They put together a better distro than you complainers do...

    --

    - - - If the sun is a star, why can't I see it at night?
  3. Good news but not enough.... by tktk · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm waiting to hear that SCO has entered bankruptcy.

  4. Significant by FortKnox · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is quite significant. Its difficult for some major companies to dig themselves out of bankruptcy (see KMart), but for an open source/linux company to do it... it really proves that open source can survive in a capitalist economy.

    --
    Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
    1. Re:Significant by emtboy9 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Not sure I would look at it that way... although I do very readily admit it is difficult to get out of bankruptcy without A: folding, or B: being bought out/liquidated.

      I tend to view OSS companies more like the farmer's market. In small towns and country settings you have the farmer's market. All the farmers come there to sell their produce, eggs, honey, etc. they all pretty much have the same things (tomatoes, beets, lettuce, eggs, etc) and so all are basically in competetion with each other. HOWEVER, listen in when the farmers are talking to each other, and you will find that they very readily help each other out with tips, advice, and even labor. Even though they are technically competing with each other, they share what they know amongst themselves to assist their neighbors.

      Open Source is a lot like that. Red Hat may be in direct competition with Mandrake and SuSE/now Novell, but at the same time, work done on Red Hat linux ends up in each of the others to some degree, and vice versa.

      The proprietary world is more like a pack of wild dogs... they run in packs together until they find prey, then its every dog for himself, and the weakest is killed/devoured by the pack, or left behind to die alone and be picked apart by scavengers.

      Now the true test is when the Farmer competes against the wild dogs. Farmer usually wins in the end, because the farmers all band together, track the pack of wild dogs, and remove them from the equation. Thus ALL the farmers livestock is safe.

      Not a big fan of Mandrake, personally, but cheers to them for getting back on their feet. The more OSS companies there are at the farmers market, the more endangered the pack of dogs becomes.

      --
      "Our funds have never taken part in toxic or death spiral convertible financings of any sort" -BayStar's managing partne
    2. Re:Significant by Obyron · · Score: 3, Funny

      Now the true test is when the Farmer competes against the wild dogs. Farmer usually wins in the end, because the farmers all band together, track the pack of wild dogs, and remove them from the equation.

      Does this give anyone else the mental image of Linus and RMS hunting Darl & Co. through the woods with automatic weaponry?

      --
      --Obyron
    3. Re:Significant by emtboy9 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Actually, that image did come to mind when I wrote that... although I am not sure if the image of Linus in over-alls, sitting on a hay bale in the back of a 65 Ford 4x4, with a shotgun in one hand, and a 6-pack in the other screamin' "Yee Haw!" is funny, or scary... ;-)

      --
      "Our funds have never taken part in toxic or death spiral convertible financings of any sort" -BayStar's managing partne
    4. Re:Significant by 0racle · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Simply being capitalist does not preclude being open and sharing to solve common problems, it just often works out that way when the capitalist becomes short sighted and greedy. If being capitalist was exclusive of being helpful to the community or industry in which they compete, companies would not fund research in public institutions, and they would aggressively fight all published standards, and before you say Microsoft, they do not fight all open standards.

      On the other hand, being open does not mean sharing everything. There are portions of RHEL that can not be freely and openly exchanged, and until recently YAST was also closed.

      It is often short sighted to group things together into groups based on extremely simple criteria just because you like one side and not the other. Your analogy, while appropriate in some regards, boils down to people that do things I like are like farmers and those that don't are just savage animals.

      --
      "I use a Mac because I'm just better than you are."
    5. Re:Significant by Tribbin · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Open software will probably beat propritary software but it is not comparable with the relation wild dogs and farmers have.

      Wild dogs chase animals to eat. Farmers make food to sell. Why would the dogs and the farmers fight? They are on a completely different market.

      --
      If you mod this up, your slashdot background will turn into a beautiful sunset!
    6. Re:Significant by emtboy9 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      On the other hand, being open does not mean sharing everything. There are portions of RHEL that can not be freely and openly exchanged, and until recently YAST was also closed.

      I never said anything like that...I said the Farmers shared SOME things. Of course the farmer with the prize winning 200 pound head of lettuce is NOT going to give away his secret, but he WILL at least help others out who cant get anything to grow at all... That was the analogy.

      Your analogy, while appropriate in some regards, boils down to people that do things I like are like farmers and those that don't are just savage animals.

      Oddly enough, the "Dog Eat Dog World" idea sprang, IIRC from corporate culture in the past few decades. Farmers didnt come up with the idea of fierce competetion, and decimating the competitor. Corporations did. Hence VHS v, BetaMax, and other ideas. Personally, the way many large corporations act, I think it is highly appropos. Besides, it was an analogy, and the way business is conducted is somewhat savage when you get down to it.

      Look at Oracle and PeopleSoft. Oracle lost again and again in the US, and are now trying to talk the EU into getting behind a takeover that PeopleSoft does not want, nor their shareholders. Tell me that is civilised?

      The wars may not always be fought with rifle and sword, some of the most important and telling battles are fought with the pen and mouth.

      Besides, its an analogy, a simile, not a metaphor.

      simile == like or as (he smelled like a tuna)
      metaphor == direct comparison (he was a tuna)

      Cheers

      --
      "Our funds have never taken part in toxic or death spiral convertible financings of any sort" -BayStar's managing partne
  5. the drake by maxbang · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Mandrake was my first taste of Linux and I'm glad to have learned much from them and their community. I hope these guys stick around - while Slack/Debian/Gentoo/etc. are great, it's always important to have distros like this available to those interested in making the switch. I haven't paid them anything since 2002 - maybe I need to throw them some bucks in gratitude. Seems a far better option than the windows tax (pirates be exempt from this doubloon taxation, me knows. arrr!)

    --
    I also reply below your current threshold.
    1. Re:the drake by Doesn't_Comment_Code · · Score: 4, Interesting

      ...it's always important to have distros like this available to those interested in making the switch.

      I'm making a new computer for my Dad, and I explained that he would have to buy an OS. He can use a computer, but he won't be using a command line. I offered to install Mandrake as a free test before buying windows. It was really nice to have the option for someone like my Dad, who might enjoy Linux, but not on a power-user level.

      --

      Slashdot Syndrome: the sudden, extreme urge to correct someone in order to validate one's self.
    2. Re:the drake by RaymondR · · Score: 4, Interesting

      They were my first distro, too. I started with 8.0, and then got more serious with 8.1 (I purchased the software from a store). Since then I have moved on to a different distro, but if it wasn't for Mandrake, I wouldn't be where I'm at now. It's always nice to see a company that works with Linux become profitable.

  6. That was close... by Penguinisto · · Score: 5, Insightful
    I still have my distro preferences more towards the RH side of things (though it is drifting towards SuSE more and mroe), and the Franco-American antipathy over Iraq may cloud the political arena darkly...

    However, Mandrake is one of the absolute best newbie/intro distros of all time, IMHO, and it's damned good to see them come back from the dead.
    No matter what US folks may think of French things, and no matter how disdainful one may be, when it comes to Linux at least, we're all family.

    Cheers,

    --
    Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
    1. Re:That was close... by Rick+Zeman · · Score: 4, Interesting

      However, Mandrake is one of the absolute best newbie/intro distros of all time, IMHO, and it's damned good to see them come back from the dead.

      I'm curious--what makes something a newbie distro vs. anything else? By virtue of the fact that things Just Work? You don't need to fire up an xterm and remember 311k arcane commands to do common administrative tasks, that there are GUI front ends? That you don't have to build it from scratch (hello, Gentoo)?
      If that's the case, call me a newbie.

    2. Re:That was close... by pr0c · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I don't know what his definition is... My definition is a distro suitable for newbies to install and maintain. Mandrake is, xandros is, gentoo isn't, slack isn't. Newbie distro means that a newbie is the minimum target.

      Now of course someone will come along and say well gentoo is easy to install, slackware is easy to install... and that is of course their opinion. The more instructions a product needs the worst it is for a newbie.

    3. Re:That was close... by haeger · · Score: 2, Informative
      I don't agree (surprise surprise).
      Mandrake is not "mostly presentation". Mandrake is true to the GPL and all work that they do are licensed under the GPL in a true OpenSource manner. They also focus on usability.
      Most people that _use_ computers want something that "just works".

      I wouldn't call myself a newbie and MDK is still my flavour of choice when it comes to my work-machine. Easy upgrades, nice interface, everything just works. It's just what I want it on one machine.

      This is not to say that others don't have the same benefits, but I haven't found another distro that combines the above things. True_to_GPL+Simplicity+Good_UI+User_friendly+Power = MDK


      Also, I think they are the only big one left to focus on users. All others seems to have gone "Enterprise" now.
      Perhaps MKD will be the Windows of Linux, Gates et al didn't try to go "Enterprise" until they had the home users... *hmmmmm....*

      .haeger

      --
      You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed opinion. -- Harlan Ellison
    4. Re:That was close... by peter_gzowski · · Score: 2, Interesting

      My definition is a distro suitable for newbies to install and maintain

      That sounds like a good definition to me. I would add that this does not mean it's unsuitable for non-newbies. I started off on Slackware, and had good guru friends around to teach me how to write bash scripts and hack at config files in vi, but now that I'm comfortable with that stuff, I just want a Linux that I can work with with a minimum of fuss. That's why I use Mandrake, and if I click some drop-down boxes, and hit Apply, and my X server doesn't boot, well then I'll crack open my XF86Config-4 file and have at it.

      I can't think of anything that I did with Slackware that I can't do with Mandrake. In fact, I do more with Mandrake thanks to urpmi (I know, Slackware recently got a comparable package management system, and these are all just poor substitutes for apt-get, but I like it). I want to recommend Linux to my friends, and I can't recommend something that I don't think they can use, and I can't recommend something that I don't use myself. I'm glad to see Mandrake is back on track

      --
      "Now gluttony and exploitation serves eight!" - TV's Frank
  7. Great news! by Steve+Ballmer's+Fat · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This is great. As a complete noob to Linux (GUI only person), Mandrake is/was the easiest to set up and use... and it works flawlessly. Keep up the good work Mandrake!

  8. Mandrakesoft by zephc · · Score: 5, Funny

    Mandrakesoft just hired old accountants from Arthur Andersen.

    --
    "I would say that 99 per cent of what my father has written about his own life is false." - L. Ron Hubbard Jr.
  9. French Administrations? by xarak · · Score: 5, Interesting


    This is most excellent news. I think that with French administrations (esp education, research and military) moving towards Linux, Mandrake might be able to secure a few core customers on their home ground.

    Most of all, it's encouraging and a releif for all the contributors - Mandrake has a great record of quality tools given back to the community.

    --
    Atheism is a non-prophet organisation
  10. They may be out of bankruptcy, BUT by ModernGeek · · Score: 5, Informative

    they have debt to pay off for the next 9 YEARS. That is almost as long as Linux has been around. Who knows what it will be like in 9 years since it is so far away in computer time. The french chapter 11 is a lot differnet than filing bankruptcy in America when you just don't have to pay your bills after you are done with it.

    --
    Sig: I stole this sig.
    1. Re:They may be out of bankruptcy, BUT by Joe5678 · · Score: 4, Informative

      Chapter 11 in the US is reorganization; essentially protection from the debtors until you can get your act together, you still have to pay them though.

      Chapter 7 is liquidation, pretty much a free for all of your assets by the debtors.

    2. Re:They may be out of bankruptcy, BUT by imr · · Score: 2, Informative

      Bankruptcy is a legal phase.
      They are out of this phase where they didnt have to pay their debts. The judge found them worth of continuing to exist (first phase), and now he ruled that they don't need this protection (not paying debts) anymore because they are profitable. (around 7% of those who go bankrupt reach that stage, at most).
      But on the other he must also protects those with whom mandrakein in debts, without putting this process of revival at risk (which would also goes against everybody's interests).
      So there is this plan which is based on mandrake's good health, where they continue to live AND SLOWLY pay their debts.
      But on the business side, they now can do a lot more than in the precedent phase (prettymuch everything, i have heard, but I'm not sure on this point), which was one of the reason of them being so low profile lately. For example, until now, they werent allowed to make deal with governmental entities. Right now, they can sign such big deals again.

      disclaimer: Of course, ianal, so i dont know what i'm talking about, and french, so i could be bullshitting you with no shame.

  11. Re:Good by ScottGant · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm glad they survived also. I'm a Gentoo guy through and through...but we all need to help each other out. I donated a few sheckles here and there to Mandrake when they were going through their hardships.

    Hey, we all need to stick together, right? Giving back to the community, even if it's in some small way. Every little bit helps.

    This is great news.

    --

    "Music is everybody's possession. It's only publishers who think that people own it." - John Lennon.
  12. Re:Sigh by mopslik · · Score: 4, Funny

    An "open sauce comapany" is news to me

    Here you go.

  13. Congrats by Welsh+Dwarf · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Great news from Paris, and to celebrate, I'll continue doing what I've been doing for quite a while:

    Recommending Mandrake to all my friends (who usually download it) and to all the companies I consult for (who usually get powerpacks).

    --
    Ask 8 slackers a question, get 10 awnsers (a citation, but I can't remember from who)
  14. Re:Good by Short+Circuit · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Uh, check the wording of the story, then check the wording of your post.

    Mandrake is profitable and is coming out of Chapter 11. That means that they're producing enough of what people want in order to stay in business.

    --
    tasks(723) drafts(105) languages(484) examples(29106)
  15. Re:Sigh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Homer Simpson: MMMmmm...open sauce company.

  16. Im not by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I don't want SCO to be protected by chapter eleven. I want to see them down, see their stock price below the 2 digits (I'm talking about cents here), see them being bought by somebody else who will take all their assets and sell them to the best bidder. Then I want to see Darl being sued by former SCO stockholders and thrown in Jail.

    I don't want to see being protected by Chapter 11. I want to see it burn.

    1. Re:Im not by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      *In walks an 8' tall Emperor penguin, with genitals so massive he's carrying 'em over his shoulder.* //wake up!

  17. Thank you Mandrake Club members, Deno by InodoroPereyra · · Score: 4, Informative
    A key to keep Mandrake afloat in the real hard times was the club, an initiative by former Mandrake employee Deno, and followed up by thousands of enthusiasts who decided to support their favorite distro. Great work to all.

    I hope to see more and more features and advantages for club members in the future, to encourage not only nice people who want to say "thank you", but also many other people to join ...

    1. Re:Thank you Mandrake Club members, Deno by Lane.exe · · Score: 3, Informative
      When I was first learning to use Linux (back in the Mandrake 7.2 days) the club was indispensible to me; even though I no longer use Linux as my main platform (OS X), I still keep my Mandrake box around and updated regularly. The club is still the best place to get support for Linux-related issues IMO. Plus, their club-only FTP and package directories are great ways for using urpmi to manage the packages on a system.

      --
      IAALS.
  18. Back In Black? by Eberlin · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Couldn't resist the AC/DC reference, sorry.

    Mandrakesoft seems to have plugged its way back up to profitability and that's extremely commendable. There have been a lot of people who wish for that "One Distro To Rule Them All" and a great deal of those people were going to crown RedHat king. I was one of them.

    However, I've changed my tune in the last few days or so. Mandrake was one of those distros that focused on desktop linux very early on. When folks at RedHat were reluctant to jump on the other side of the server, Mandrake went in, both feet. At the very least, that's commendable.

    The sad part of the story is that Mandrake isn't as big as RedHat nor does it have the backing of a Novell the way SuSe does. One can only hope that Mandrake's survival (and profitability) ensures end-users a great desktop distro from all the competition.

  19. Re:Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny


    Hey, we all need to stick together, right? Giving back to the community...

    The Community...The Community...The Community...

    One of us...One of us...One of us...

    Play the game, Wesley.

  20. Re:No Suprise by Doesn't_Comment_Code · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Why do people mark these comments flamebait, at least the post is speaking some level of truth.

    Thanks for having my back. I'm not trashing Mandrake. I have it on one of my machines and happen to think they are excellent in several UI areas.

    But they do REALLY push you send them a check. Here's the link:

    http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/ftp.php3

    --

    Slashdot Syndrome: the sudden, extreme urge to correct someone in order to validate one's self.
  21. It's now official by MukiMuki · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It is now official - Netcraft has confirmed: Mandrake is not dying

    Yet another crippling bombshell failed to hit the beleaguered Mandrake community when recently The Court confirmed that Mandrake accounts for less than a fraction of 1 percent of all exit plans. Coming on the heels of the latest Netcraft survey, which plainly states that Mandrake has gained more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. Mandrake isn?t collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by not failing dead last [samag.com] in the recent Sys Admin comprehensive networking test.

    You don't need to be a Kreskin [amazingkreskin.com] to predict Mandrake's future. The handwriting is on the wall: Mandrake faces a promising future. In fact, there won't be any failure at all for Mandrake because Mandrake is not dying. Things are looking very good for Mandrake. As many of us are already aware, Mandrake continues to gain market share. Gold ink flows like a river of honey. Mandrake PPC is the most successful of them all, having regained 93% of its core developers.

    Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

    SUSE leader Seibt states that there are a whole lot of users of Mandrake. How many users of Mandarke PPC are there? Let's see. The number of Mandrake versus Mandrake PPC posts on Usenet is roughly in ratio of 5 to 1. Therefore there are about a whole lot/5 = a lot of Mandrake PPC users. Debian/Gentoo posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of Mandrake posts. Therefore there are about a few users of Debian/Gentoo. A recent article put Mandrake PPC at about a chunk of the Mandrake market. Therefore there are [beyond here lie dragons / 4i] = [woah, Nelly] Mandrake PPC users.

    This is consistent with the number of Mandrake PPC Usenet posts.

    Due to the troubles of Walnut Creek, abysmal sales and so on, Mandrake PPC didn?t go out of business and wasn?t taken over by Red Hat who sell another fledging OS. Now Red Hat is also prospering, its profits turned over to yet another charnel house.

    All major surveys show that Mandrake has steadily inclined in market share. Mandrake is very healthy and its long-term survival prospects are very bright. If Mandrake is to prosper well it will be among large enterprises. Mandrake continues to grow. Nothing short of a miracle could stop it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, Mandrake is alive.

    Fact: Mandrake is alive

    (note : I originally forgot the bloody plain old text option. crap.)

  22. Mandrake is my favorite OS. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    I haven't put any money into Mandrake though. I'm feeling guilty. I've used and abused it extensively. I'll buy a t-shirt and join the club for awhile.

  23. Re:No Suprise by rokzy · · Score: 2, Insightful

    flamebait isn't about being untrue, but being inflammatory.

  24. Do we see a pattern here? by David+Hume · · Score: 4, Interesting

    They were my first distro, too.


    I wonder, do we see a pattern here? Could this be why Mandrake wound up in "Chapter 11-like protection status?" Could it be an indication that it might again wind up in said status?

    It appears that Mandrake is a great distro for newbies (I know, I started with it myself) who then do not stick around (yep, me again). The result is a relatively high cost of sales, and a relatively small continuing income stream. Can a distro survive if it is everybody's first distro, and nobody's second?

    --
    Only Women Bleed (Sex, Sharia remix)
    1. Re:Do we see a pattern here? by greg_barton · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I wonder, do we see a pattern here?

      Possibly, but there are other patterns. For instance, I started off with Mandrake, strayed to redhat and SUSE for a while, but ended up as a paying customer for Mandrake. (Silver club member) I want a distro that's easy to use and just works. Mandrake provides that.

    2. Re:Do we see a pattern here? by Stinking+Pig · · Score: 4, Informative

      A handful of samples != overwhelming evidence. You'd see a very different picture if you were on a Mandrake-specific list, where loyalty is high and the majority of people seem to be coming from Red Hat and SuSE rather than Windows.

      --
      "Nothing was broken, and it's been fixed." -- Jon Carroll
    3. Re:Do we see a pattern here? by InodoroPereyra · · Score: 4, Interesting
      I agree, I am myself an experienced GNU/Linux/*nix user and I choose Mandrake. I guess the point is, some people think that because Mandrake is easy to use for newbies, it is not appropriate for experienced users. This is not necessarilly true in general, and certainly not true in what respects to Mandrake.

      As a power user, Mandrake gives me:

      • An extremely easy to administer distro. Adding/installing services is a breeze.
      • Most hardware is autodetected.
      • Sweet software management (urpmi et al). I never reinstall from scratch, just upgrade from CDs or network.
      • Standards compliance (LSB certified)
      • A huge software selection. Add Mandrake/contrib to your urpmi media and you are golden.

      My Unix path has been: Solaris & Slack -> Redhat -> Mandrake. I will change again if I find something more suitable for my needs, this is a not a religion. But getting back to the point, Mandrake is a fabulous general purpose distro for general audience. Not just a migration toy for home users/newbies.

    4. Re:Do we see a pattern here? by Kozar_The_Malignant · · Score: 2, Insightful

      >It appears that Mandrake is a great distro for newbies (I know, I started with it myself) who then do not stick around (yep, me again).

      This got me thinking in the context of the current article on migration to Linux and the Ask Slashdot on installing packages vs. compiling source. While many of us love to tweak and play with the OS, most computer users are just that: users. They want to boot the sucker, load a program or two and use it to do work, communicate, and/or play games.

      To say that Mandrake is a great distro for newbies, may be saying it has a bright future. The vast majority of computer users are lifelong newbies, and that's OK. If you want to make money selling a computer OS, that's one of your markets, whether you like it or not.

      I started off with Storm Linux and Red Hat. I am now a Mandrake customer, because it works great for what I do. With my first Mandrake version, I had to recompile the kernel to get pcmcia support on my laptop. Trust me, my wife is not up to that.
      --
      Some mornings it's hardly worth chewing through the restraints to get out of bed.
    5. Re:Do we see a pattern here? by eddy+the+lip · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Don't know that I would call it a pattern. My first (succesfully installed) distro was RH 5.2. Debian was the first I tried, and I went back to it very briefly after I'd learned my way around this linux thing a bit. 7.0 was my first Mandrake and I've stuck with it since.

      It's not a matter of not liking the command line (although I've only got four terminals open as I'm typing this, and only one instance of vim - it's an admin day), or not liking to tweak things. Linux is my primary workstation. I depend on it to get stuff done, so I don't have the time to fuss with it that I might like. Mandrake Just Working makes it newbie friendly, but it also makes it a dependable working environment. I'm not planning on changing anytime soon.

      I think there's a definite market for distributions that are easy to use, easy to maintain, and don't require you to spend a lot of time compiling from source or editing config files. That I can do all that if I want or need to is the icing.

      --

      This is the voice of World Control. I bring you Peace.

  25. Bah by Lakedemon · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Americans, french, israeli, palestinian are all human people...
    We all eat, drink, sleep
    We all like children
    We all love Women (men/dogs/cats/sheeps...)

    Having the same tastes, we could all be friends (Bah...).

    Well, there are these that bad bad things called "Hate" and "Politics" that make/made people do awfull things this century and the last one...

    Personnaly, I'm french and I love americans (the american girls).
    So, you see... The antagonism between france-us isn't so bad.... ^_^
    Lakedemon
    ps : go go go Mandrake !

  26. Sweet! by feidaykin · · Score: 2, Interesting
    This post is brought to you by Fire($current_name) and Mandrake 10.0! Just got it installed on this box today, actually. Busy building stuff right now.

    In fact I'm having a bit of trouble with GTK+, it's yelling about lib/cpp failing sanity check. As far as I know it shouldn't even be using that instead of GCC, but whatever...

    I've always loved Mandrake. Anyone can complain that Linux isn't user-friendly, but it takes very brilliant people to actually get up and DO something about it. And that's exactly what the Mandrake distro is: Linux as user-friendly as it gets. From the install to the first time you start X, anyone who has even used a computer will feel right at home.

    Granted, to get the most out of any Linux distro, it helps to be a propeller-head, but it's great to know that, once installed, you could teach a granny how to use Mandrake for Web/email/office apps.

    I'd just like to sum up my thoughts about why you should give Mandrake money in a quote I saw years ago: "Support those that enrich the world, not those that use the world to get rich."

    --

    "To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit." -Stephen Hawking

  27. Do we see a Linux Desktop here? by shadowcabbit · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Can a distro survive if it is everybody's first distro, and nobody's second?

    Yes, absolutely. Because it will never be "nobody's second"-- people naturally resist change. If enough people are convinced to switch from Windows and wind up using Mandrake as their desktop-- and it's my opinion that Mandrake is well suited to that task-- then the lower-tier users (ie people who just plain want to use the computer for email, web, etc.) will stay with Mandrake. Hell, we've got people who're resisting the change from Windows 95. When something works, Random User will not risk it by upgrading unless there's a damn good reason. Random Geeks (like us) will always progress to the Next Big Distro, and in the case of Mandrake, it won't be that.

    If you want to make a Linux Desktop a reality, make it simple to use and get into. Mandrake gets that pretty close to right. It was my first distro, and I trashed my hard drive twice before I finally got it right; Mandrake's installers made things pretty easy, but not infallible. And besides, how many Random Users are going to worry about installing it more than once?

    (Wow, my first Linux-zealot post. How'd I do? ^_^)

    --
    "Why Subscribe?" Good question...
  28. I am by MAXOMENOS · · Score: 2, Informative

    Not chapter 11, but chapter 7 (dissolution of the corporation.)

    --
    Finding God in a Dog
  29. Better than saying by Azureflare · · Score: 4, Interesting
    It's better than saying: Hey! Come on over and download whatever you want, it's free! Don't bother to reward us for our hard work!

    SOMEbody needs to support them if they're going to be really successful. And that's me ($120 Silver Club Member).

    Also, in addition to paying for the club, you get the powerpack for download, and commercial/contrib packages on the mandrakeclub rpm section. (If you're a silver member).

    Actually, what really drove me to go from $60 to $120 was the fact that I could download the Mandrake Move! CD with USB Key functionality... Man that thing rocks!

    So I figure I'm getting enough out of it to justify the price of $120 for a year... Others may not feel the same way. Others may subscribe to online games... I choose to support Mandrake. Everyone has to make that individual choice, but Mandrake can help people realize that it's important to support Mandrake.

    Don't you think they have a right to ask people to support them? Isn't that the whole spirit of the OSS community?

  30. Re:No Suprise by cpn2000 · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Whats wrong with that? Would you rather they make you pay before you download?

    For starters they are not insisting that you use their distro, and last I checked Open Source Software is Free as in speech, not free as in beer. Surely you agree that they deserve to be paid for all the efforts that they put into making such a great distro.

    Honestly, I think we should be happy in that they let you try their distro before they ask to be paid. I tried the distro one time, but I decided to go with RH instead, hence I did not buy the club membership, but it was good to know that I did not have to buy a membership to find that out.

    If you think this is bad you should see the stunts Real uses when you try to download their free player. This is really really tame in comparison.

    --
    All you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be ... Dark side of the moon
  31. Bankruptcy 101 by chicagothad · · Score: 2, Informative

    Ok,

    Just as an FYI, most companies are profitable *under* Chapter 11. During 11, the company has all of it's debt (aside from secured) debt stayed and does not pay interest. So, it would be make all the top line $$$$ and not having to pay what drove you into barkruptcy in the first place!

    I am rooting for these guys...but let's see what the profitability looks like over the next 2 quarters...

  32. Re:Good by spacecowboy420 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Nice in may? Shit, it's pretty sweet now. Yeah, at first it was clunky, but once easy urpmi [http://urpmi.org/easyurpmi/index.php] updated, I was in business. I use redhat at work and mandrake for my daughter's and I's desktop and am very impressed. I especially love the "what to do menu" so my 8 yr old can just go there, see the choices, and run the app. I KNOW redhat, so it is great for using as a server where all you need is remote access, but mandrake is simply sweet when it comes to setting up a desktop. Anyone out here bashing Mandrake hasn't given it a try. I have everything I need on install (aside from apollon & giFT, which I simply `urpmi apollon' `urpmi giFT' and it's installed) No messing with fstab for my fat32 media partition, k3b is ready to go without jumping through hoops - in my opinion simply the best version of desktop linux. I will confess I haven't installed SUSE, so I may not be able to compare completely. The real confirmation is when I burned about 10 copies for the engineers at work, let 'em at it, and they came back with smiles. The only thing I have seen that was a minor annoyance was having to boot to disk 2 on install, then switch to disk 1 - but that isn't for every cdrom drive. Good for Mandrake.

    --
    ymmv
  33. Bright Future for Mandrake and Linux by stealth.c · · Score: 4, Informative

    With even more positive press, I hope more people decide Mandrake is worth a subscription or two. I used to be a SUSE guy, but Mandrake was my first taste of Linux, and I've at last returned to Mandrake, for a few very important reasons.

    It's a great distro because you can get your hands as dirty as you could with Debian, and yet its glossy and friendly enough for a newbie. And that's good for me, because I don't ALWAYS want to pretend I'm running Gentoo. That, and Mandrake doesn't seem to lean so heavily on one desktop environment that they ignore the other. I can use GNOME or KDE (or install XFCE4) and not feel like I'm running in some secondary mode. SUSE was like this with GNOME and RedHat & Debian seems to treat KDE that way.

    Mandrake has always been concentrating on desktop use, and has been doing it for years, so I think it's a lot more mature than Lindows (can't speak on Xandros). As soon as I can afford it, I'm purchasing 10.0 Final on DVD. God knows I've been using their distro for long enough.

  34. profitable by... not refunding money by apoupc · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I ordered Mandrake from them in November and after a few weeks of them not shipping, I cancelled the order. They kept on saying they would refund the money, but never did. Then they just stopped replying to my emails. If this is how they are dealing with coming out of Chapter 11, that is a sad way to go.

  35. Re:No Suprise by kilgortrout · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Mandrake had nearly the same message before, during and now after the bankruptcy filing so what's your point? And before the bankruptcy they used to have these pathetic public pleas in the press for contributions from the community or they would go under. At least now they've figured out how to have a positive cash flow and a profitable business.

  36. Re:A bit disingenuous by bdeclerc · · Score: 2, Funny

    Let me see : Mandrake are putting out a software package that contains more software then Microsoft's entire product portfolio, they're doing it at a much, much lower price then Microsoft, *and* they're making a profit doing so...

    MS couldn't produce Notepad for the cost Mandrake has producing MDK-linux, can you say "commoditisation"? Then you might realise why Microsoft is running shit-scared of Linux...

    Open Source is, for Mandrake, truly a profitable industry, because they are making a (small, but real) profit, the big profits in this case go to the purchasers of Linux, who don't have to shell out oodles of cash again and again for what is, in essence, a non-core expense for anybody not directly in the software-business. The profits aren't gone, they're just elsewhere...

  37. Re:A bit disingenuous by God!+Awful+2 · · Score: 2, Funny

    OMG, that is priceless!! If I were the CEO of Enron or Worldcom, I would definitely use that one.

    "Sir, in your tenure, you drove a profitable company right into bankruptcy..."
    "The profits aren't gone, they're just elsewhere."

    -a

    --
    /. users can't