Rating: 
Summary: Linux rocks, RH8 does not
Review: If this was simply a review of RH8 in the contex of a supported environment, then I would give it 5 starts. But RH8 Personal edition, as a means for getting Linux on a home box by a non-sysadmin, is not completely where it could be.The principle reason is the lack of drivers. I tried to get RH8 Personal on my Dell Dimension 2350 and the lack of even a functioning video driver made it all but impossible. Also, fdisk doesn't work with XP, so I had to use PartitionMagic 8.0 which has its own issues (it makes a Linux partition that Linux doesn't think is Linux.) I bought RH9 and things worked much, much better. However, I had to go through a lot of grief to get my Broadcom 440x network driver up and I still can't find one for my Canon i850 color printer. For Linux to be fully competetive with Windows in a home environment, it needs to reach a broader level of hardware compatibility. A dual boot was my best choice and setting it up was largely uneventful for me with RH9. I need Linux as an interface to computational systems that do the serious kind of work Windows is incapable of. But my slide scanner, with a driver embedded in Photoshop Elements, requires either a Mac or Windows. Once more drivers and software are available for Linux, I can finally get rid of XP.
Rating: 
Summary: new to Linux
Review: I was really pleased with the installation process. The GRUB boot manager was installed during the process ( already had Windows XP on the computer)without me having to make any decisions. Defining my printer, broadband internet connection and email was fairly easy. Now reading "Official Red Hat Linux User's Guide" and have ordered "Red Hat Linux 8 Bible" to help me learn Linux. Documentation CD that comes with Linux 8.0 is very helpful. Linux appears to run as fast on my Pentium III 450 Desktop as Windows XP runs on my Pentium III 1.2 notebook.
TERRIBLE SUPPORT SERVICE ON PROBLEMS. THEY LET YOUR WARRANTY TIME EXPIRE AND CLOSE THE INCIDENT. ORDERED SUSE PERSONAL 8.1 TO REPLACE IT ON MY NOTEBOOK COMPUTER.
Rating: 
Summary: Good but a few bugs...
Review: I personaly really like this product but there are a few set backs. For one: The GUI for iptables has a bug that makes it think your firewall settings are slways high (it does update the file though so its not that big of a problem.) But there are pluses to... Remember the MS blue screens of death? I have never seen RedHat fail! It comes with alot of stuff like office apps, tux racer and countless other games, a lot of text editers, and much other stuff. If you want a cheap desktop envirement thats useful you might like it.
Rating:
Summary: Solid OS For the Home or Office Workstation
Review: All of the great things about Linux in general: stability, security, and the incredible array of productivity tools, have made it into Red Hat Linux 8.0 all wrapped up in a slick new look and easy to use interface. Unfortunately, the bad things about Linux: instability of the [somewhat more obscure] programs, poor, Windows-like security out of the box, and the mind-numbingly huge array of tools, came along with it as well. Red Hat 8.0 looks beautiful. It comes with a couple of great things for the average home user or general-work desk jockey. First off, there's Open Office 1.0.1. This is a slick, easy to use, and incredibly versatile and powerful office suite that, frankly, matches or rivals Microsoft's competing Office suite in every worthwhile category (yes - a lot of the pointless junk in MS Office that you didn't use made it to Open Office, but not all of it). It includes a Word Processor, a Spreadsheet, Math tools, and a Powerpoint-ish program that I haven't used yet. All of them work wonderfully and I've yet to have a problem with this latest version of Open Office. Next, there's Ximian Evolution. INCREDIBLE. That's all that needs said. If you like the idea of all of the worthwhile functionality of Outlook without the instability and insecurity (and a lot of the glut), you'll LOVE Evolution. You can even hook up to an Exchange server by purchasing the necessary software seperately (at a VERY reasonable price as of the time of this writing). However, there are down sides. Red Hat 8.0, like many other Linux distributions, comes with an absolutely mind-boggling array of packages that can be installed. Unfortunately, to this date, I have been unable to keep an installation under 800 MB. Many of the packages that are available or get installed are nothing more than duplicated work that other packages already provide. Also, the massive installation requires you to diligently track down and shut down services to improve on the security of the system. Still, that's more than other OSes provide (Microsoft Windows), and it's far cheaper. A lot of functionality, a lot of potential, but honestly, if you want a server, get FreeBSD or OpenBSD. However, since this is the personal edition, I would whole-heartedly reccomend it to anyone looking to replace their stale, unusable Windows systems on a home computer. Thumbs up Red Hat!
Rating:
Summary: Almost as good as Windows now
Review: The difference in operability between 8.0 and it's predecessors to me is astounding. Installation was flawless, just like Windows. The desktop is even smoother than it was under my version of 7.2 and 7.3. Believe it or not, even my USB interface digital camera now works under Linux. Performance is smooth, even though I'm running it on my slowest computer, a P-II/450 with 128 MB. All we need now are some more applications. I'd even welcome some commercial software written. This is a much better deal than paying for Lindows with the false promise of being able to use your Windows applications.
Rating:
Summary: Resistance is FUTILE!!!
Review: I have been waiting for a distro that thinks more toward corporate acceptance and less about the linux faithfuls who seem to want to live in the past when Linux was a toy for geeks. Wake up! The only way that Linux will be accepted in the mainstream is if it is seen as a truly viable alternative to windows. Like it or not windows is entrenched in the corporate and home users world. Its like shouting in the middle of the forest to constantly tout the benefits of Linux without a way for anyone to here you. This distrubution by RedHat finally gets it right. The installation was easy and the desktop is polished and professional. The MAC is what I think of when I look at the BLUE CURVE interface. REDHAT gets it right without trying to look like windows. It sets itself apart. If you want to stay on the WINTEL treadmill then stay with windows. If you want to be in control of your computing then get Linux. RedHat 8.0 finally liberates the desktop. Thanks RedHat.
Rating:
Summary: I can use Linux at last!
Review: I've bought Linux in the past and struggled with it and eventually removed it. Either it wasn't compatible with my hardware or was too difficult to use. Now, however, Linux is at least easy enough to use(like Windows 95) and although I had to buy a new modem, it worked with all my PC interal hardware. I still have a scanner and digital camera that doesn't work, but I expect Logitech to produce a driver at some point for the camera. This Linux is great! It's powerful like Unix but very much like Windows 95 in presentation. There is a learning curve to go through to learn how to do stuff but so far I know this will be my primary new operating system. Goodbye Microsoft! Welcome Red Hat Linux! This system comes with a lot of free software and development tools for programming and web development etc. To get this much stuff with Microsoft you would have to spend thousands of dollars. I will never go back to $$$ Microsoft. Linux is the value oriented operating system for the users by the users. You get the source code for the system too!(Not that many of us can understand it, but ok!) THIS IS FREEDOM FOLKS! Macintosh wants to control their hardware too much and keep their system away from hardware they don't make. Now Microsoft wants to control our hardware and software too. Linux is the only operating system that is a viable alternative to these two companies that want to control how you use your computer. Vote with your wallets and purses folks. This is the new system for the 21st century. Join the open source revolution! :-)
Rating:
Summary: Getting to know Linux
Review: I've been using Linux for about six months now. Red Hat 8.0 works well with my home LAN & Macintosh PPCs. The earlier versions 7.1, 7.3 used to be challenging especially undoing my WindowZ mentality. I like the way that RH8.0 smoothly configures on my Ethernet LAN. I intend to use Linux exclusively after test driving it for a few months. I don't need to reboot on every system change, only once an a while I would even have to logout. My system is dual OS'd with Windows 2000 Pro. and Grub startup. When or if I need to upgrade to RH9.0 I won't hesitate. I finally bought a Red Hat manual so you know that I've been winging it.
Rating:
Summary: Best linux yet but decide what you want to do with this
Review: I have tried many distributions and versions inclding corel, redhat 7.3, mandrake 7-9. I have two machines and what I have the linux for is to do my school work. That means papers, writing java and c++ programs and other tasks handed to me by my computer science professors. If this sounds similar to what you want it for then it's perfect in my opinion. There are so many tools that are for free that you'd have to buy for windows but you can have them for free in the linux world. On the other hand, if you are the regular home user who wants to download multimedia files, play games and you don't want to know how the machine works, then I'd have to say it doesn't get better than windows right now. Linux has has made great strides and it might very well become suitable for all users soon..
Rating:
Summary: Beware of Stability Problems
Review: RH 8 has everything going for it but one thing - it crashes often and hard. VERY unstable, the least little error leads to a crash. The performance degrades with time and crashes come more and more frequent. I have installed three times, each ending with total system loss (the file system becomes a total mess beyond repair) and a need for a fresh install. I have been using it about six months. Worse than old Windows OS!!! I want to like RH 8, but sorry to say it is going into the trash. Intel P4 1.6G, 256 RAM, software RAID 1 Duplex 20G ATA100 Maxtor drives
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