Rating: 
Summary: Simply amazing!
Review: If you are looking for a good, stable, alternative operating system, then Mandrake is for you! I installed it to dual boot with Windows XP Home Edition on my new Custom Compaq (P4 1.7GHz, 256MB Ram, Dual-20GB Drives, CD-RW) and everything worked without a hitch.Well, thats not entirely true actually, seeing as I had a PCTEL Winmodem installed on the computer (it came with it) the modem was not properly recognized. However, it was a quick fix when I got a download from Jan's PCTEL Resources (PCTEL and more winmodem drivers available at www.linmodems.org)! The included StarOffice, AbiWord, and KOffice are excellent Microsoft-Compatible office suties that I use every day. The games included are also very good and provide hours of time-wasting-fun! There is an excellent CD Ripping utility provided, Grip, and XMMS is one of the best media players out there (A clone of the popular WinAMP). The distro (distribution) comes loaded with window managers and themes, which is wonderful! I personally use KDE 2.2.22, but it comes with Gnome, IceWM, Enlightenment, Black Box, and many more, so if you don't like the default theme, you can very easily switch at login! I have my Mandrake Linux setup on a 4.65GB (and it only uses 2GB of it!) partition on my secondary drive and I kept Windows XP on its original partition of 17GB (the other partition on the drive is for Compaq OS restore files). I have LILO (Graphical) configured to load Windows XP as the default but with the touch of a button I can boot right into Linux, depending on what kind of a mood I am in!!! Overall, Mandrake Linux 8.1 is the perfect alternative OS for everyone, in fact, I like it so much that I've been using it much more often than windows! In fact, I'm writing this review on it!
Rating:
Summary: Simply amazing!
Review: If you are looking for a good, stable, alternative operating system, then Mandrake is for you! I installed it to dual boot with Windows XP Home Edition on my new Custom Compaq (P4 1.7GHz, 256MB Ram, Dual-20GB Drives, CD-RW) and everything worked without a hitch. Well, thats not entirely true actually, seeing as I had a PCTEL Winmodem installed on the computer (it came with it) the modem was not properly recognized. However, it was a quick fix when I got a download from Jan's PCTEL Resources (PCTEL and more winmodem drivers available at www.linmodems.org)! The included StarOffice, AbiWord, and KOffice are excellent Microsoft-Compatible office suties that I use every day. The games included are also very good and provide hours of time-wasting-fun! There is an excellent CD Ripping utility provided, Grip, and XMMS is one of the best media players out there (A clone of the popular WinAMP). The distro (distribution) comes loaded with window managers and themes, which is wonderful! I personally use KDE 2.2.22, but it comes with Gnome, IceWM, Enlightenment, Black Box, and many more, so if you don't like the default theme, you can very easily switch at login! I have my Mandrake Linux setup on a 4.65GB (and it only uses 2GB of it!) partition on my secondary drive and I kept Windows XP on its original partition of 17GB (the other partition on the drive is for Compaq OS restore files). I have LILO (Graphical) configured to load Windows XP as the default but with the touch of a button I can boot right into Linux, depending on what kind of a mood I am in!!! Overall, Mandrake Linux 8.1 is the perfect alternative OS for everyone, in fact, I like it so much that I've been using it much more often than windows! In fact, I'm writing this review on it!
Rating:
Summary: Mandrake is the best distro for the Masses
Review: Linux Mandrake is simply the easiest and best desktop linux solution that anyone can use. Mandrake provides cutting edge software and excellent support and community options. I highly recommend!
Rating:
Summary: Mandrake is the best distro for the Masses
Review: Linux Mandrake is simply the easiest and best desktop linux solution that anyone can use. Mandrake provides cutting edge software and excellent support and community options. I highly recommend!
Rating: 
Summary: Easy, reliable. What more could you ask for?
Review: Linux-Mandrake is the perfect choice of anyone new to linux. It offers the power and ability of any linux system. With a easy to navigate enviroment, it is hard to get lost. Mandrake also provides ease of use. This is probably the easiest to use distro out there. If you are serous about Linux, then give this product a try. You can install it along side windows. So you can have the best of both worlds. Once you try Mandrake, thu, you realize something. You don't need MS anymore. IMHO, wait for 8.2 to come out. IT features the new kernel, and a few other choice updates.
Rating:
Summary: Great product
Review: Mandrake is the best Linux distro for new users, hands down, yet, for power users, does not sacrifice flexibility as do other "easy" distributions. The installation is easily the best out there (the biggest worry for new users). However, be advised that Mandrake offers VERY LIMITED technical support only via email and for only one problem. Further, I have found their staff to be high-school-tech-types who were very unknowledgable, and even completely ignored my help requests, such as when Mandrake sent me a box with only three of four install CDs in it.
Rating:
Summary: As easy as Windows, and more powerful
Review: Mandrake Linux installs effortlessly. When you need to install new sotfware onto your machine, this task is also effortless. I'm a first time linux user, and I was outright shocked at how easy the whole procedure was. People say, "sure, but Windows is easy, too." But, Windows crashes. Windows doesn't have a webserver right out of the box. Windows doesn't have enormous libraries of FREE software to install. Windows doesn't run fast on older machines. Linux does all these things and more, and the Mandrake team has put together the tools that make it easy enough for the average person to switch over with no hassle.
Rating:
Summary: Easy Install/Configuration. Consistent, logical Menus
Review: Mandrake PowerPack 8.1 is the best path for migration from Windows. Its collection of desktop software is more complete than Red Hat's, and its menus are logical and consistent from one window mangager to another. SuSE probably has more applications in their Professional edition, but Mandrake's menus and configuration tools, including its installation routine, are better. With Red Hat, I had to download many applications to have just what I wanted. Mandrake includes all of them. Red Hat and SuSE both have disorganised menus that are not consistent from one window manager to another. So when switching to, say Window Maker from KDE, most of the applications you use will not have menu entries for convenient startup. You will have to configure them manually if you are not running Mandrake. Even within KDE or Gnome, finding menu entries for often-used applications can take time because of the poor organisation within Red Hat. Mandrake's menus, on the other hand, make finding applications easy. Personal firewall software is included and is set up through a wizard that asks very clear questions about how your machine will be used on the internet. Setting it up takes about 2 minutes. Do not be put off by the lack of boxed application software for Linux on the shelves at your local software store. Most applications are included and what isn't may be downloaded and used free of charge. Very good office applications are included: StarOffice 5.2, GnuCash for personal finance, Evolution to replace Outlook, Galeon and Opera for tabbed-interface web browser fans, dozens of games of every kind, and the usual endless choices for programs in all categories that open source software junkies have come to expect. If you are looking for an escape route from Microsoft's licensing shake-down tactics, from the endless upward spiraling costs of software/hardware upgrades, a low cost complete software bundle, and better security and stability than Windows can offer you, then you won't find a better solution than Mandrake Linux PowerPack Edition 8.1. When comparing its price with Windows, gather together into a pile Windows XP, Office XP, Visual Studio 6.0, personal firewall software, and as many games as you want. Add up their prices and compare the total with the price on the Mandrake box. Consider what you could buy with the difference between them. This is a truer price comparison than comparing operating system cost with operating system cost. Now take out the software from the Windows pile you would never buy and revise your total. The difference should still be impressive. Compare the hardware requirements, including what each vender recommends, and if in considering Windows XP you are also considering buying a new computer to run it, include the cost of that in your evaluation. When added together, the cost of all the software and hardware to run Windows XP should give you cause to shudder. The Mandrake Linux alternative will save you thousands of dollars. And if you get your software from your buddy at work ;-) Linux will give you the freedom to share your software without violating license agreements. You may make as many copies of it as you like and install them on as many computers as you like, and give them to as many of your friends as you like--legally.
Rating:
Summary: mandrake is awsome period
Review: This OS rules, and its great for newbies. It was the only linux distro to detect my ethernet card and video card. It comes with over 6 user interfaces such as gnome, kde, enlightenment, ( my personal favorite) blackbox, and many more (unlike windows which has only 1). The installation was fairly easy, very graphical, you could also choose different themes for the installation. Hardware detection and installation was impeccible. It even has a graphical LILO (linux loader) for those who want dual-boot so you can use both mandrake and windows. You can also edit the configuration files to suit the way you want linux to run. So if your tired of using microsoft windows and want more options, stability, multi-tasking, multi-user, multi-server, and multi-desktop get mandrake!. ... And also the game station rules such as Tux racer!
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