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Mandriva Linux 2010 Is Finally Out
ennael writes "We finally did it. Mandriva Linux 2010 is out and comes with many improvements and innovations. We still go on supporting in the same level of integration GNOME 2.28 and KDE 4.3.2. Support for netbooks is improved as users can now easily test Moblin 2.0 environment. 'Smart desktop' coming from European research is now fully integrated and is the first real working semantic desktop. Mandriva Control Center also brings improvements in tools: a new netprofile management tool, a GUI for Tomoyo security framework, and parental control. A big thanks to our community, who worked hard and made this release possible."
I use Debian myself, but started out with Mandrake (which became Mandriva). It's a very nice distro actually, more polished than Ubuntu. Also I believe it comes with codecs and other non-free stuff as well as pretty good support so the buyer does get value for their money. For someone just switching from Windows who wants a higher degree of "fit and finish" it's a solid choice. It's not for those whose primary concern is an idealistic and uncompromising free OS though.
Caveat Utilitor
Actually they have a gratis version (One) and a commercial version (Powerpack); they're almost the same, but Powerpack includes some non-free software.
Circumcision is child abuse.
I have been using Mandriva since the days of Mandrake ... 8.1 specifically ... and frankly each time I have tried switching to any other distro I always find myself coming back. Not that the other distros are bad, but I honestly think Mandriva has the hardware detection down cold, and has been routinely better than any others. When the 'buntu showed up I tried switching, and every iteration had a deal breaker. I stopped trying at the LTS edition. Today the only other distro I use is Zenwalk, not some mainstream hotshot like Suse, fedora or Ubuntu.
I guess I am asking, why is it that such a good, arguably superior, distro seems to have to pull teeth just to get a few scraps of publicity, while some others seem to be living in some sort of reality distortion field?
In B.C., our fascism is green.
It isn't even 2010 yet!
Oops, I forgot to mention: they also have a version named "Free", that includes absolutely no proprietary apps or drivers.
Circumcision is child abuse.
No I also like Mandriva. Here's to hoping Mandriva 2010 undoes some of the damage caused to the Linux image by the Ubuntu Karmic release SNAFU.
I wouldn't mind seeing Mandriva gain some ground, and some new packages in the process.
A fool and his lamb are worth two in the bush.
Mandriva doesn't cost 60 Euro, so please stop the FUD. You can get Mandriva running perfectly fine by using "Mandriva Free 2010", and they have community repos for mp3 etc just like Debian has "debian-multimedia" and Opensuse has packman.
"Ubuntu is an modern day white trash word that means 'I can't fucking read'".
\suseuser
No, I care too. I have been running it continuously (as in 24/7/365) as a mail and webserver since 2002. Upgraded repeatedly without major difficulties from Mandrake 8.2 to Mandriva 2009.1. Ubuntu is currently as easy to install and use, but there was no Ubuntu back in 2002 and Mandrake's hardware detection and auto-configuration were top-notch. I've stayed with it because none of the upgrades broke anything I couldn't fix in half an hour.
...considering Mandrivia costs 60 euros and has a MUCH smaller userbase than Ubuntu, which is free and is the de facto desktop distro winner. Shouldn't a linux newcomer just adopt the most supported distro aka Ubuntu?
Mandriva is free, too. Otherwise, you may be right. Ubuntu may be a better distro for a "Linux newcomer". On the other hand, getting support for other distros is not wildly different or inherently worse than getting support for Ubuntu. I hope you realize that Ubuntu might not be everybody's cup of tea, and not everybody is new to Linux. While Ubuntu may be the most popular choice for Linux on the desktop, it is by no means the only practical or best choice for everyone.
This author takes full ownership and responsibility for the unpopular opinions outlined above.
Mandriva has a free as in beer one CD (like Ubuntu) version: you pay for the version that comes as a multi CD set (so you can install more on installation without downloading) and support.
In any case, the cost of an OS is trivial compared to its importance to most users: if 60 Euros gives you something better, spend it.
If you think you should adopt the most widely used desktop, you should logically use Windows.
Mandriva is a very good distro, and much more newbie friendly. It has better hardware detection, and is very easy to use. The only real shortcoming is that the software installer is not quite as good as Synaptic.
Mandriva is quality free distribution.
We hope your rules and wisdom choke you / Now we are one in everlasting peace
It had a few questionable releases around the Mandrake/Mandriva switch, but it's very very good now. From what I've seen it's probably one of the best distros for KDE, better than Fedora and Kubuntu.
We hope your rules and wisdom choke you / Now we are one in everlasting peace
Hardware support is good. My gut feeling has been it is better than in Ubuntu, but this is just personal experiences with some boxes that ran Mandriva but not Ubuntu, several years ago, and may not apply to latest versions of both.
Software versions in Mandriva are usually very fresh. It also seems to have better good 32 and 64 bit interoperability than most. I have been running the 64-bit version, yet I have not seen the 32-bit Flash troubles that users of other distros report. Just install the plugins and tell nspluginwrapper to update its information. I guess the fact that the author of nspluginwrapper used to work for Mandriva shows!
One good thing in favor of Mandriva is the PLF ("Penguin Liberation Front") repository that you can use to easily add software that the patent-encumbered in some parts of the world.
> Am I the only one who cares?
There may be one or two others.
I learned long ago arguing over what Linux disto is best is like arguing about the best beer. Each one is unique and appeals to certain people. You have popular distos like Ubuntu and Red Hat/Fedora. Just like you have your popular beers like Budwiser and Coors. The users of the less popular distros usually look down on the users of the more popular distros. In the same way the drinkers of less popular beers look down on the drinkers of the more popular beers.
As for me, I'm typing this response into Chromium using Gnome that is running on Gentoo with special combination of USE flags that is optimized for my unique usage pattern of pr0n, Slashdot, EVE Online, TV/VCR repair, and database administration.
Also, thinking of beer made me get a Guinness out of the fridge before finishing this post.
Umm... Mandriva is free. You *can* buy it boxed and get some support,etc., but for the average home user it doesn't cost a penny more than Ubuntu, Fedora, openSuse, or FreeDOS.
It's also still a fairly dominant distro, and in my opinion is a better place to start if you don't want your OS to treat you like a total moron (every time I try and use Ubuntu, it just feels like it's insulting my intelligence). Mind you, for some people that's probably the appropriate design for an OS, but I'm personally quite happy with Mandriva (one of my computers is running 2009 Spring, I may try upgrading it).
There's no place I could be, since I've found Serenity...
I do too; it makes it easy to do the kinds of things a home user wants to do, without insulting your intelligence, requiring crazy and arcane knowledge, or being overly pushy with the Free Software approach (they offer a F/OSS-only download, but they also offer an ISO with the useful free-as-in-beer proprietary stuff bundled). Their releases are more frequent than openSuse's, I've never had the instability problems that I get with Fedora (seriously, Fedora 10 crashes whenever I manage to connect it to my network, haven't bothered trying it again since then), and I massively prefer its design philosophy and UI over that of Ubuntu.
There's no place I could be, since I've found Serenity...
For those of you who jumped onto the Linux boat in the Ubuntu era, Mandriva / Mandrake is mostly a hold-over from the days when Red Hat Linux was the biggest Linux distribution around. Red Hat was still a little difficult for some users, so Mandrake was based off Red Hat with more of a focus on polish and ease of use for desktop systems... Maybe similar to the relationship between Ubuntu and Debian. Like Ubuntu, Mandrake was very important, and if someone needed an easy Linux distro, Mandrake Linux was almost the standard.
I still remember ordering Mandrake and Slackware CD's through the mail because they were too big to download on a 56k connection. For a few dollars any number of companies would burn disks as send them through the mail. It wasn't standard for everyone to have broadband, or to be able to do updates through the Internet. In retrospect, Linux was certainly clumsier, rougher, and less stable on the desktop. A quick spin with Mandrake Linux 7 can show you how radically the Linux desktop experience has changed in the last nine years.
This clumsy user experience was also responsible for turning many Linux geeks away from the "bloated" desktop environments and more toward bare metal distributions such as Slackware and Debian, along with minimalist window managers, xterms, and other such tools. In my case, after struggling with Red Hat and Mandrake, I found the simplicity of Slackware to actually be easier, and lived over in that world for the next 7-8 years until Ubuntu really started to shine. I am sure there are many other Slashdotters who have had similar experiences in their years with Linux.
Systemd: the PulseAudio of init systems
...needs to be shot. Mandriva is still the best desktop linux distro out there. Ubuntu is made of fail because it loves Gnomes. OpenSuse is made of fail because it's full of clunky "enterprise" (Another word for "crap") admin stuff. Fedora is made of fail because RedHat is more interested in RHEL than anything else. That leaves Mandriva. It's fast, it's free (Despite OP might think. Hint: Try visiting the Mandriva website and clicking on the Download link...), boasts great repos, wonderful configuration tools and is all round a top noch desktop experience. It's what I use at work because I need a distro I can rely on to install right, work properly and not throw up a fuss when it comes to installing software, playing music and getting things done.
Budweiser and Coors are popular? You must be American.
"Quality free distributions" - are you trolling? Mandriva is free. Yes, they have a commercial edition (powerpack) that comes with some proprietary software, but they offeer completely free editions (Mandriva One, Mandriva Free) that are just like any other free editions. And about quality - Mandriva 2009 spring received glowing review, and having used it for a few months, I can confirm - it's probably one of the finest distribution, especially if you look at their KDE implementation. Which reminds me - since when can you mention quality and ubuntu together when it comes to KDE?
...considering Mandrivia costs 60 euros and has a MUCH smaller userbase than Ubuntu, which is free and is the de facto desktop distro winner. Shouldn't a linux newcomer just adopt the most supported distro aka Ubuntu?
Well, if said newcomer desires KDE, the answer is ABSOLUTELY NOT. Kubuntu, for the past 4 releases (basically, since Feisty) have been alpha quality. They ship with broken packages, zero customization, and bugs that would be considered by any other responsible vendor as showstopper (for instance, wireless that broke most people's Internet connection after updating to Jaunty). Besides, as other pointed out, Mandiva has free editions.
There is a wonderful location for software whose licenses make it difficult to include in Mandriva, such as libdvdcss for reading DVD's in the USA, emulators for game consoles because Mandriva won't incorporate them directly to avoid US DMCA legal issues, and Dan Bernstein's oddball tools whose licenses used to prevent rebundling. It's called the Penguin Liberation Front, it's built around Mandriva, and its source RPM's are convenient for any RPM based distro that wants access to these tools.
I find it extremely handy because it has old, weird tools like xv and vtwm for which I sadly miss development.
I know a lot of European girls who drink those brands!
This is blinging
It's not for those whose primary concern is an idealistic and uncompromising free OS though
Why not? They release a "Mandriva Free" ISO with every release, which contains only F/OSS software. You can install the proprietary stuff yourself if you want to, but the install media is about as "idealistic and uncompromising[ly] free" as any Debian GNU/Linux user could want.
There's no place I could be, since I've found Serenity...
Out of curiosity, does kdesu (the graphical privilege-elevation dialog) work yet? The last Kubuntu build I tried had kdesu set up to use `su` not `sudo` (it's a configuration option). Since [K]Ubuntu's root account is disabled by default, it doesn't matter what password you enter - su won't work.
This was a blatantly obvious showstopper bug that requires literally a minute or two to fix. The fact that it shipped in a release version of Kubuntu was where I lost all faith in the distribution's QA efforts.
There's no place I could be, since I've found Serenity...
As much as Debian died by dpkg, in other words, not at all. I guess you didn't try urpmi (which was in a released version of Mandriva before apt was in a stable release of Debian)?
So, when no more founders of Microsoft are employed by Microsoft, they should change their name, or their customers should consider switching?
What really made Mandrake, and continues to make Mandriva, is not one person, but the combination of employees and contributors. While many of both have come and gone, a lot of the contributors from the Mandrake era still use and contribute to the distro, and new contributors join quite often.
If you bothered to look, you would probably find that Mandriva is more open than Ubuntu or Fedora (not sure about "Open"SUSE).
Mandriva has been my OS of choice since it was Mandrake. I haven't tried Ubantu, hated Fedora (but haven't tried it for a long, long time). Suse was ok but I far prefer Mandriva to any distro I've tried.
I think what I like best about it is the "Mandriva Control Center", they tout it as new, but administration has been easy as pie for years anyway. It just works (at least on hardware I've thrown it on).
I'm leery of the "Smart desktop" technology; if I don't like it I hope it's easy to remove or disable. It's GNU so it probably is, and who knows, I might like it anyway! TFA was really light on details, can anybody here shed more light on what it is, what it does, and how it works?
Free Martian Whores!
Ubuntu does XFS, (as well as ext*, JFS, MurderFS and so on) through the standard installer.
XFS has been available on Mandrake/Mandriva since Mandrake 8.2 if I remember correctly. Since that time it has been possible for users to resize system filesystems (e.g. /usr) using a graphical interface. This is still not possible on many distributions.
mdraid, lvm and truecrypt only work through the alternate installer disc (but the curses interface ain't that much more difficult than the GUI, so it oughtn't be an issue.
The Mandriva installer supports RAID, LVM, and LUKS encryption in the graphical installer. This GUI tool is also available after installation.
Currently about 40 server boxes, about dozen of workstations. Tried other distros many times since 2002, always switched back.
Good job, Mandriva guys!