Average Rating: 
Rating:  - rockin' the old pc
okay, i'm still fairly new to the linux world, but i'm so happy with it. i've had a 200mhz/64mb ram/10gig hd computer hanging out in my closet for the last two years, because i thought it had finally seen it's last days. it was nicknamed the black box of doom, because even when it ran under win98, it was a nightmare of constant rebooting.but i decided to give mandrake linux a whirl on it, so my wife and i wouldn't have to fight over the 800mhz dell anymore. and i have been blown away. mandrake installed with basically no problems. it didn't pick up the 3com ide network card, but did give me the option to pick it from a list during the install. other than that there were no hang ups installing it. now that i've got it running, it's just amazing. kde runs faster on it than win2k does on a 300mhz/128mb ram computer that i use at work. i've got the gimp for image manipulation, mozilla for browsing, evolution for e-mail, and there are hundreds more included apps (everything from ftp programs to office apps to development tools). i can do more with it now than i ever could before. and coupled with my cable modem connection, it's almost like having a new computer. plus i can still use AOL's instant messaging, and i downloaded a file sharing program that uses the same protocol that morpheus uses. and the constant crashing? gone. i've had it running for over two weeks now, without even the thought of re-booting. the only time it had a problem was when my one year old decided to play drums on the keyboard. ;) i did try Suse 7.3 on the same system and it's also a wonderful distribution for new users, but unfortunately it had some problems with my video card, and i was too lazy to try to learn more about xfree86 to fix it, and just installed mandrake instead. all in all, i feel it's an increadible value. i saved myself a ton of money on software and hardware that i would have needed to get a useable windows system up and running. and now i have the reliablity and freedom of linux backing me. if microsoft's demands for new top of the line hardware and strict (money grubbing) piracy protection are growing old, i'd definately reommend the switch to linux. either mandrake or suse are wonderfual for new users.
Rating:  - The best way to enter into the Linux world, for a beginner.
Mandrake Linux is, without a doubt, the most user-friendly, and probably least flexible, and most kiddyish, and frankly, somewhat idiotic, distribution of Linux there is.Now, let me say that this is the way to go for a beginner, who is looking for above average security, and a good level of every-day functionality (as well as a painless installation). That aside, I must say it's a ripoff to buy and not simply download, partially because there is a lack of decent commercial software, and partially because it's just rather bad as far as programming environments and user-control go. About as bad as Windows in the end. If you choose on going with Linux, and don't mind a bit of kernel configuration during, or after, the installation, I'd go with Slackware, RedHat (though it has a bit more bugs), or at least SuSE. That, or get yourself any distribution of UNIX (they're all good).
Rating: - Excellent!
Easy to use, easy to install, easy to use, simply awesome.Mandrake has surpassed Red Hat in their installation environment. This is the distribution that I installed in my grandmother's computer so that I can update software and maintain their machine over the network. Highly recommended! You will not be sorry. Their network updates are very nice. If you want a more difficult installation but a much easier software (command driven) software update tool, look into Debian Linux. Cheers!
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