Mandrake Linux 10: The Future Looks Good - Conclusion
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With the recent progression from Community to Final, I think we have a contender for a distribution that can push Linux to the masses. It has some bugs - some WAY more serious than others - but on the other hand, its supposed to. I thoroughly enjoyed the blazing fast installer, the wide range of software options, and the stability. In the three weeks I used it, not a single program crashed, and I was able to run Mozilla, OpenOffice.org, Totem Media Player, KSnapshot, several instances of Emacs and Konsole without any speed drop at all. I was also able to write the review in its entirety using OpenOffice.org and KSnapshot.
One complaint about newer distributions (and the main reason why I run Gentoo on older hardware) that I hear a lot is that they sometimes require newer hardware. Running Community on a Pentium 3-500 was a dream, and I can actually recommend this distribution over something like Red Hat 7.3 or 8 for older hardware.
If you're a new Linux user, don't shy away from Mandrake. If you're a power user, there's some stuff for you as well, but I still get the feeling that its aimed at the newbie Linux user. In some respects, experienced Windows users will have no problems getting around, and the Control Center feels very much like the 'new look' default Control Panel in Windows XP.
Highs
- Ridiculously fast installer
- Lots of programs
- Easy to use
Lows
- Has some packages with show stopper bugs
- Still feels like a distro for newbies
I'd like to thank you for stopping by Dev Hardware today for our preview of Mandrake 10 Final. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about this review or how Linux will takeover the world, stop by the forums and let yourself be heard.
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