Which is More User Friendly? Mandrake 9.0 or Redhat 8.0?

[magomago]

I ask this because recently I built a Pc for my bro. Now in turn come this JAnuary I will be able to make one for myself.

Now I currently have Mandrake 8.0 and Win2kPro installed on my PC. However Mandrake 8.0 isn't really as "user friendly" as it is made to seem (thank god I allocated only 10% of my 20 gig hd to it...I use it occaisonally, but mainly for the THE GIMP than anything else)

So now I am thinking of making another dualboot. But I want userfriendliness. I've heard some nice things about M9 and RH8, but I'm wondering which is more userfriendly. That is a key point for me. Thanks!

 

[ndee]

It's ...

 

[AkumaBao]

Probably RedHat 8.0. The Bluecurve WM is a definate stab against Windows.

 

[cleverhandle]

Originally posted by: AkumaBao
Probably RedHat 8.0. The Bluecurve WM is a definate stab against Windows.

Bluecurve isn't a Window Manager - it's just a bunch of coordinated themes for all the other desktop components (Metacity, Nautilus, GTK, GTK2, etc.). Bluecurve in itself really doesn't make the user experience any easier, just prettier. That being said, I'm fiddling with RH 8.0 on my laptop at the moment, and I find the new versions of the RH GUI tools pretty nice. Haven't tried Drake 9, though.

Bluecurve is nice looking, though - I consider myself a desktop snob, and I find the default settings quite decent compared to the ones in 7.3.

 

[magomago]

Is it easier to get stuff up and running in Redhat 8? Packages and crap like that... I could never get a stupid program installed under Mandrake 8.

Does RH atomatically setup most things? I'm talking stuff like your videocard. Mandrake 8 looks fine, but for some reason my 3d acceleration on my Geforce2 doesn't work and I can't even play Tuxcart (you know..that racing game down a snowy mountain) because it won't load... I tried fixing Xfree (whatever version) but i couldn't get it to work.

So my point is will RH set it up for me so 3d acceleration is ready to go?!

I want it to set up for me as easily as possible....

sorry if i'm incoherent

 

[n0cmonkey]

If you download the distro, none of them should come with 3d support for nVidia products. Until nVidia wants to play nice with the linux community, it will not happen.

If you are not willing to learn and play a bit with this, linux is not right for you.

 

[magomago]

I've been trying to learn! Its just extremely confusing.

EX: I have a winmodem...regretfully [my next pc will hae a hardware modem]

but i found out that there is a linmodem driver. I d/led the thing and instructions and I culdn't get it to work. I go as far as recompiling the entire kernel...but I got stuck there...


Ugh...Linux is friggin hard but I want to get away from Windows as much as possible (i''m trying to set it up where i use Linux for everything but games....That way Windows doesn't catalog much of my information for whatever purpose billyboy inteneded it for)

 

[GonzoDaGr8]

Ugh...Linux is friggin hard but I want to get away from Windows as much as possible (i''m trying to set it up where i use Linux for everything but games....That way Windows doesn't catalog much of my information for whatever purpose billyboy inteneded it for)

It's not so much hard..It's just different. Linux has a different approach to the same things that we do in Widows. You just need to learn how(and you will with a little tinkering and keyboard banging) and you will be on your way. First thing to do is remember that it is not Windows and go into it with an open(empty? ) mind...

EDIT: forgot to add..I am having better luck and more fun(yes, I said fun) with the new Mandrake than any other distro I have ever tried(Corel,Mandrake8,Red Hat:disgust: and SUSE 7.3 & 8)

 

[MGMorden]

Linux is a VERY good OS that you can have a lot of fun with (to me it brings back the fun of computing that I felt when I was 13 playing around in DOS). You must remember though, as others have said, that it ain't Windows. Many people are turned off by Linux too quick. The problem is that most people who try Linux for the first time are already really good with Windows. When they try out Linux they get intimidated because they don't know their system on the level they used too. Because they don't know all the little tweaks, quirks, and little hidden goodies of the OS, it scares them and they either get rid of it or just end up not using it any. Just keep an open mind about it. How long did it take before you got REALLY good at Windows? I don't mean proficient in using it; I mean to the point where you pretty much know your way around all the config settings and such no sweat. It took most of us a couple years. Be prepared to put just as much time into Linux before you're REALLY good at it (I'm on I think my 4th year of Linux use now; been using Windows/DOS for like 10 years). I'm still learning a lot of new stuff, though I've passed that point long ago where the system just mystically did all it's stuff (I didn't know ANYTHING about Linux when I first installed it. I'd never touched a Unix system. Had no idea where the config files were or even what vi was). Just give it time and it'll grow on ya.

 

[TonyRic]

Well said MGMorden. I have ben using PC's since the early 1980's. Progressed Through DOS from version 2.1 (yes, 2.1) to Windows 3.0 (Yes, I paid for that bug ridden POS), OS/2 2.0 Betas, Win 3.1 Betas, stayed with OS/2 until v4. When running OS/2 v3 Warp, I installed Linux (Slackware) for the first time in 1994. Played with it for about 6 months and because X was still lacking support for video cards I dropped it. Went to Windows 95/98/NT/2000 and in 1999 while playing with W2K I moved to Linux 95% and moving ever so slowly to 100% (GO Codeweavers).

It is a very daunting process. Just stay the course, do not give up. As MGMorden stated, it will take you as long to learn Linux as it took you to learn Windows. It is well worth the effort.

Cheers

 

[owensdj]

MGMorden, I was working with Unix-like operating systems years before Windows 95 even existed, but I still have a hard time liking Linux.

 

[Syn]

Mandrake 8.0 isn't really as "user friendly" as it is made to seem (thank god I allocated only 10% of my 20 gig hd to it...

Mandrake 8.0 is very user friendly IMO so I reckon Mandrake 9 would be too.As far as getting 3d acceleration with a Nvidia card,try the evil3d how to's.

 

[Macro2]

Lindows installs in 7 minutes.

Trouble is, they actually want money for it.

 

[magomago]

Money?

Lindows isn't that important to me. I want to switch the majority of my stuff (with the exception of games) to Linux.



But thanks everyone for explaining that I should stick in there with linux. I will try


The thing is that i need to know to stick with Mandrake 9 or Red Hat 8