Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/

[Tanner Lovelace <lovelace AT wayfarer.org>]

On Fri, 2002-04-26 at 09:38, Craig wrote:
> I would echo Kevin's comments, except that the boxed set of Mandrake 8.2 
> has 
> not yet hit the shelves of our local stores. Just as Kevin has a preference 
> for Redhat, I have a preference for Mandrake, but for someone who is new to 
> Linux, the differences between Redhat and Mandrake are quite insignificant -
> they are both great and very compatable!

I'll second the recommendation for Mandrake 8.2 over Redhat 7.2.
When I started my new job this month, I tried Redhat 7.2 to begin
with and quickly gave it up and went to Mandrake 8.2.  I personally
think they have much better integration with their desktop components.
Mandrake uses the debian menu system so you have the same menu
with all desktop environments (KDE, Gnome, Windowmaker, etc...).
They also include the urpmi program that will automatically 
download and install rpm dependencies for you (similar to apt-get
on Debian).  In addition, the Mandrake Update program provides
an easy way to keep your system up to date.

Finally, one other thing I like about Mandrake is that a group
called the Penguin Liberation Front provides files for Mandrake
that easily provide things like DVD playback, Divx, etc...
and they integrate completely with the urpmi program for software
installation.  

Oh, and everything is compiled with pentium optimizations, rather
than being compiled for the 386 (better for desktop machines). :-)

Redhat has a good distribution also, and you can't go wrong with
either, but if you're looking for a good desktop experience,
go with Mandrake.  (It works well with servers too, but it's
more on par with Redhat there...)

Tanner
-- 
Tanner Lovelace | lovelace AT wayfarer.org | http://wtl.wayfarer.org/
--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--
GPG Fingerprint = A66C 8660 924F 5F8C 71DA  BDD0 CE09 4F8E DE76 39D4
GPG Key can be found at http://wtl.wayfarer.org/lovelace.gpg.asc
--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--
"Computer games don't affect kids; I mean if Pac-Man affected us as
kids, we'd all be running around in darkened rooms, munching magic
pills and listening to repetitive electronic music."
                                Kristian Wilson, Nintendo, Inc, 1989