"Kier" <vallon@tiscali.co.uk> wrote in post
pan.2005.03.11.19.20.17.945979@tiscali.co.uk on 3/11/05 12:20 PM:

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 11:51:19 -0700, Snit wrote:

"Tom Shelton" <tom@YOUKNOWTHEDRILLmtogden.com> wrote in post
FykYd.15$Oq5.645@news.uswest.net on 3/11/05 10:28 AM:

In article <BE5721EB.8F9F%SNIT@CABLE0NE.NET.INVALID>, Snit wrote:
First, thanks to all the people who suggested I look at Mandrake. Decided
to download it today.

Until I realized that Mandrake is not free.

Here we have what I understand is one of the most popular distros of Linux,
and people are paying for it. What happened to the idea that the free ones
are just as good? And for the $50-60 Mandrake would cost me, it does not
even come with a media player... though more expensive versions do. And
that is if I download it and burn it myself. If I want a boxed edition I
am sure it costs more...

What am I missing? If the free Linux distros are as good, why is Mandrake
so popular? Is there a free way to download Mandrake that I missed on the
site?

Do not get me wrong - for a relatively small amount you still get quite a
bit - a whole OS, graphics editing package, office package, etc. But
something just does not add up here...

I see mandrake on linuxiso.org.... You might try getting it there.

Thanks... after the post I saw that there is a free version... still, makes
me wonder how popular the paid for version is and why...

Why should it not be popular, just because you have to pay? IMO, it's
worth the money for the extras, like drivers, and the manuals. But you can
get most of what's on it for nothing, if you search around. A lot of it's
convenience. A complete newbie would get on much better with a retail box.

I agree... which is one reason why most of the free distros of Linux would
not suit the needs of the new user.

"Kier" <vallon@tiscali.co.uk> wrote in post
pan.2005.03.11.19.20.17.945979@tiscali.co.uk on 3/11/05 12:20 PM:

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 11:51:19 -0700, Snit wrote:

"Tom Shelton" <tom@YOUKNOWTHEDRILLmtogden.com> wrote in post
FykYd.15$Oq5.645@news.uswest.net on 3/11/05 10:28 AM:

In article <BE5721EB.8F9F%SNIT@CABLE0NE.NET.INVALID>, Snit wrote:
First, thanks to all the people who suggested I look at Mandrake. Decided
to download it today.

Until I realized that Mandrake is not free.

Here we have what I understand is one of the most popular distros of Linux,
and people are paying for it. What happened to the idea that the free ones
are just as good? And for the $50-60 Mandrake would cost me, it does not
even come with a media player... though more expensive versions do. And
that is if I download it and burn it myself. If I want a boxed edition I
am sure it costs more...

What am I missing? If the free Linux distros are as good, why is Mandrake
so popular? Is there a free way to download Mandrake that I missed on the
site?

Do not get me wrong - for a relatively small amount you still get quite a
bit - a whole OS, graphics editing package, office package, etc. But
something just does not add up here...

I see mandrake on linuxiso.org.... You might try getting it there.

Thanks... after the post I saw that there is a free version... still, makes
me wonder how popular the paid for version is and why...

Why should it not be popular, just because you have to pay? IMO, it's
worth the money for the extras, like drivers, and the manuals. But you can
get most of what's on it for nothing, if you search around. A lot of it's
convenience. A complete newbie would get on much better with a retail box.

I agree... which is one reason why most of the free distros of Linux would
not suit the needs of the new user.

"Kier" <vallon@tiscali.co.uk> wrote in post
pan.2005.03.11.19.20.17.945979@tiscali.co.uk on 3/11/05 12:20 PM:

Why should it not be popular, just because you have to pay? IMO, it's
worth the money for the extras, like drivers, and the manuals. But you can
get most of what's on it for nothing, if you search around. A lot of it's
convenience. A complete newbie would get on much better with a retail box.


I agree... which is one reason why most of the free distros of Linux would
not suit the needs of the new user.

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 12:25:52 -0700, Snit wrote:

"Kier" <vallon@tiscali.co.uk> wrote in post
pan.2005.03.11.19.20.17.945979@tiscali.co.uk on 3/11/05 12:20 PM:

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 11:51:19 -0700, Snit wrote:

"Tom Shelton" <tom@YOUKNOWTHEDRILLmtogden.com> wrote in post
FykYd.15$Oq5.645@news.uswest.net on 3/11/05 10:28 AM:

In article <BE5721EB.8F9F%SNIT@CABLE0NE.NET.INVALID>, Snit wrote:
First, thanks to all the people who suggested I look at Mandrake.
Decided
to download it today.

Until I realized that Mandrake is not free.

Here we have what I understand is one of the most popular distros of
Linux,
and people are paying for it. What happened to the idea that the free
ones
are just as good? And for the $50-60 Mandrake would cost me, it does not
even come with a media player... though more expensive versions do. And
that is if I download it and burn it myself. If I want a boxed edition I
am sure it costs more...

What am I missing? If the free Linux distros are as good, why is
Mandrake
so popular? Is there a free way to download Mandrake that I missed on
the
site?

Do not get me wrong - for a relatively small amount you still get quite a
bit - a whole OS, graphics editing package, office package, etc. But
something just does not add up here...

I see mandrake on linuxiso.org.... You might try getting it there.

Thanks... after the post I saw that there is a free version... still, makes
me wonder how popular the paid for version is and why...

Why should it not be popular, just because you have to pay? IMO, it's
worth the money for the extras, like drivers, and the manuals. But you can
get most of what's on it for nothing, if you search around. A lot of it's
convenience. A complete newbie would get on much better with a retail box.

I agree... which is one reason why most of the free distros of Linux would
not suit the needs of the new user.


You may now tell us why White Box,Fedora, Ubuntu, or the community
Mandrake does not suit the needs of the 'new user'.

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 11:51:19 -0700, Snit wrote:

"Tom Shelton" <tom@YOUKNOWTHEDRILLmtogden.com> wrote in post
FykYd.15$Oq5.645@news.uswest.net on 3/11/05 10:28 AM:

In article <BE5721EB.8F9F%SNIT@CABLE0NE.NET.INVALID>, Snit wrote:
First, thanks to all the people who suggested I look at Mandrake. Decided
to download it today.

Until I realized that Mandrake is not free.

Here we have what I understand is one of the most popular distros of Linux,
and people are paying for it. What happened to the idea that the free ones
are just as good? And for the $50-60 Mandrake would cost me, it does not
even come with a media player... though more expensive versions do. And
that is if I download it and burn it myself. If I want a boxed edition I
am
sure it costs more...

What am I missing? If the free Linux distros are as good, why is Mandrake
so popular? Is there a free way to download Mandrake that I missed on the
site?

Do not get me wrong - for a relatively small amount you still get quite a
bit - a whole OS, graphics editing package, office package, etc. But
something just does not add up here...



I see mandrake on linuxiso.org.... You might try getting it there.

Thanks... after the post I saw that there is a free version... still, makes
me wonder how popular the paid for version is and why...
--
I am one of only .3% of people who have avoided becoming a statistic.


Read the Mandrake pages.

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 12:31:44 -0700, Snit wrote:

"Kier" <vallon@tiscali.co.uk> wrote in post
pan.2005.03.11.17.50.14.480553@tiscali.co.uk on 3/11/05 10:50 AM:

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 10:22:35 -0700, Snit wrote:

First, thanks to all the people who suggested I look at Mandrake. Decided
to download it today.

Until I realized that Mandrake is not free.

Of course it is, if you get a download edition. Or a covermount. 10.1
Official is out on one of the magazines, and the community editon has been
on a couple of others recently.


Here we have what I understand is one of the most popular distros of Linux,
and people are paying for it. What happened to the idea that the free ones
are just as good? And for the $50-60 Mandrake would cost me, it does not
even come with a media player... though more expensive versions do. And
that is if I download it and burn it myself. If I want a boxed edition I
am
sure it costs more...

Where did you find that $50-60 editon without a media player? On the Linux
Magazine DVD of Mandrake 10.1 Official, I find listed under Multimedia:
Xmms and noatun, both of which are music players, and Xine and Mplayer,
which are DVD/CD/vidoe file players - you might need to download a few
codecs, or libdvdcss for DVD playing, but that's all. And once you set up
urpmi with the mandrake repositories, you have access to all the Official
distros software.

http://www.mandrakesoft.com/products/101/comparison

The list there does not have a check mark for the cheap version.

If you pay for a boxed set, it shouldn't cost you the earth, and it will
come with a few nice extras, that's all, plus some manuals and support.
You're basically paying for the support, the manuals and the extra, some
of it proprietary, software, plus drivers like the nvidia drivers, all
conveniently put together.

Much of which you get when you buy XP or OS X.


What am I missing? If the free Linux distros are as good, why is Mandrake
so popular? Is there a free way to download Mandrake that I missed on the
site?

Don't get what you're driving at here. It's popular because it's good -
excellent for newbies, especially.

I have been searching for a good distro of Linux that will work for
newbies... and now I am finding that for newbies Linux may not be free...
depending on their needs.

Please define 'free'. If you have a broadband connection you can indeed
download, burn the CDs and install for free. If not you can get it pretty
damned cheap at linuxCD.org. You can do a 'free' install (download or ftp
install) of virtually all the major Linux distributions -
www.distrowatch.com will help you find out where. You can order a two disk
set (Live CD + install CD) for free (no shipping costs either) of Ubuntu
Linux from the ubuntulinux.com website.

Then why do people pay for Mandrake? What is the advantage?

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 12:31:44 -0700, Snit wrote:

"Kier" <vallon@tiscali.co.uk> wrote in post
pan.2005.03.11.17.50.14.480553@tiscali.co.uk on 3/11/05 10:50 AM:

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 10:22:35 -0700, Snit wrote:

First, thanks to all the people who suggested I look at Mandrake. Decided
to download it today.

Until I realized that Mandrake is not free.

Of course it is, if you get a download edition. Or a covermount. 10.1
Official is out on one of the magazines, and the community editon has been
on a couple of others recently.


Here we have what I understand is one of the most popular distros of Linux,
and people are paying for it. What happened to the idea that the free ones
are just as good? And for the $50-60 Mandrake would cost me, it does not
even come with a media player... though more expensive versions do. And
that is if I download it and burn it myself. If I want a boxed edition I
am
sure it costs more...

Where did you find that $50-60 editon without a media player? On the Linux
Magazine DVD of Mandrake 10.1 Official, I find listed under Multimedia:
Xmms and noatun, both of which are music players, and Xine and Mplayer,
which are DVD/CD/vidoe file players - you might need to download a few
codecs, or libdvdcss for DVD playing, but that's all. And once you set up
urpmi with the mandrake repositories, you have access to all the Official
distros software.

http://www.mandrakesoft.com/products/101/comparison

The list there does not have a check mark for the cheap version.

The free version is available on Mandrake's mirrors and with various
magazines.

If you pay for a boxed set, it shouldn't cost you the earth, and it will
come with a few nice extras, that's all, plus some manuals and support.
You're basically paying for the support, the manuals and the extra, some
of it proprietary, software, plus drivers like the nvidia drivers, all
conveniently put together.

Much of which you get when you buy XP or OS X.

Yes? So?



What am I missing? If the free Linux distros are as good, why is Mandrake
so popular? Is there a free way to download Mandrake that I missed on the
site?

Don't get what you're driving at here. It's popular because it's good -
excellent for newbies, especially.

I have been searching for a good distro of Linux that will work for
newbies... and now I am finding that for newbies Linux may not be free...
depending on their needs.

Mandrake can be DLed for $0 by anyone, even though they really want you to
join the Mandrake Club.

OS X and window$ is not legally $0 for anyone.


Haven't seen the site lately, I got my boxed retail set elsewhere,
slightly cheaper, and before that I used magazine covermount versions of
9.0, 9.1, 9.2, 10.0 and 10.1. You won't get Realplayer or Flash, or Java
from a covermount, but they can be added quite easily afterwards.


Do not get me wrong - for a relatively small amount you still get quite
a bit - a whole OS, graphics editing package, office package, etc. But
something just does not add up here...

Sure it does. Mandrake as a company is trying to make a living. But they
still give you the option of obtaining the distro for free. I'm sure
someone will be able to point you to a download site.

"ray" <ray@zianet.com> wrote in post
pan.2005.03.11.21.08.49.540694@zianet.com on 3/11/05 2:08 PM:

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 12:31:44 -0700, Snit wrote:

"Kier" <vallon@tiscali.co.uk> wrote in post
pan.2005.03.11.17.50.14.480553@tiscali.co.uk on 3/11/05 10:50 AM:

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 10:22:35 -0700, Snit wrote:

First, thanks to all the people who suggested I look at Mandrake. Decided
to download it today.

Until I realized that Mandrake is not free.

Of course it is, if you get a download edition. Or a covermount. 10.1
Official is out on one of the magazines, and the community editon has been
on a couple of others recently.


Here we have what I understand is one of the most popular distros of Linux,
and people are paying for it. What happened to the idea that the free ones
are just as good? And for the $50-60 Mandrake would cost me, it does not
even come with a media player... though more expensive versions do. And
that is if I download it and burn it myself. If I want a boxed edition I
am
sure it costs more...

Where did you find that $50-60 editon without a media player? On the Linux
Magazine DVD of Mandrake 10.1 Official, I find listed under Multimedia:
Xmms and noatun, both of which are music players, and Xine and Mplayer,
which are DVD/CD/vidoe file players - you might need to download a few
codecs, or libdvdcss for DVD playing, but that's all. And once you set up
urpmi with the mandrake repositories, you have access to all the Official
distros software.

http://www.mandrakesoft.com/products/101/comparison

The list there does not have a check mark for the cheap version.

If you pay for a boxed set, it shouldn't cost you the earth, and it will
come with a few nice extras, that's all, plus some manuals and support.
You're basically paying for the support, the manuals and the extra, some
of it proprietary, software, plus drivers like the nvidia drivers, all
conveniently put together.

Much of which you get when you buy XP or OS X.


What am I missing? If the free Linux distros are as good, why is Mandrake
so popular? Is there a free way to download Mandrake that I missed on the
site?

Don't get what you're driving at here. It's popular because it's good -
excellent for newbies, especially.

I have been searching for a good distro of Linux that will work for
newbies... and now I am finding that for newbies Linux may not be free...
depending on their needs.

Please define 'free'. If you have a broadband connection you can indeed
download, burn the CDs and install for free. If not you can get it pretty
damned cheap at linuxCD.org. You can do a 'free' install (download or ftp
install) of virtually all the major Linux distributions -
www.distrowatch.com will help you find out where. You can order a two disk
set (Live CD + install CD) for free (no shipping costs either) of Ubuntu
Linux from the ubuntulinux.com website.

Then why do people pay for Mandrake? What is the advantage?

"Rick" <none@trollfeed.com> wrote in post
pan.2005.03.11.21.08.31.622846@trollfeed.com on 3/11/05 2:08 PM:

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 12:31:44 -0700, Snit wrote:

"Kier" <vallon@tiscali.co.uk> wrote in post
pan.2005.03.11.17.50.14.480553@tiscali.co.uk on 3/11/05 10:50 AM:

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 10:22:35 -0700, Snit wrote:

First, thanks to all the people who suggested I look at Mandrake. Decided
to download it today.

Until I realized that Mandrake is not free.

Of course it is, if you get a download edition. Or a covermount. 10.1
Official is out on one of the magazines, and the community editon has been
on a couple of others recently.


Here we have what I understand is one of the most popular distros of Linux,
and people are paying for it. What happened to the idea that the free ones
are just as good? And for the $50-60 Mandrake would cost me, it does not
even come with a media player... though more expensive versions do. And
that is if I download it and burn it myself. If I want a boxed edition I
am
sure it costs more...

Where did you find that $50-60 editon without a media player? On the Linux
Magazine DVD of Mandrake 10.1 Official, I find listed under Multimedia:
Xmms and noatun, both of which are music players, and Xine and Mplayer,
which are DVD/CD/vidoe file players - you might need to download a few
codecs, or libdvdcss for DVD playing, but that's all. And once you set up
urpmi with the mandrake repositories, you have access to all the Official
distros software.

http://www.mandrakesoft.com/products/101/comparison

The list there does not have a check mark for the cheap version.

The free version is available on Mandrake's mirrors and with various
magazines.

Way to go... I already said I found the free versions. Again - do you know
*anything* about Linux a newbie like I does not?

If you pay for a boxed set, it shouldn't cost you the earth, and it will
come with a few nice extras, that's all, plus some manuals and support.
You're basically paying for the support, the manuals and the extra, some
of it proprietary, software, plus drivers like the nvidia drivers, all
conveniently put together.

Much of which you get when you buy XP or OS X.

Yes? So?

What am I missing? If the free Linux distros are as good, why is Mandrake
so popular? Is there a free way to download Mandrake that I missed on the
site?

Don't get what you're driving at here. It's popular because it's good -
excellent for newbies, especially.

I have been searching for a good distro of Linux that will work for
newbies... and now I am finding that for newbies Linux may not be free...
depending on their needs.

Mandrake can be DLed for $0 by anyone, even though they really want you to
join the Mandrake Club.

OS X and window$ is not legally $0 for anyone.

Haven't seen the site lately, I got my boxed retail set elsewhere,
slightly cheaper, and before that I used magazine covermount versions of
9.0, 9.1, 9.2, 10.0 and 10.1. You won't get Realplayer or Flash, or Java
from a covermount, but they can be added quite easily afterwards.


Do not get me wrong - for a relatively small amount you still get quite
a bit - a whole OS, graphics editing package, office package, etc. But
something just does not add up here...

Sure it does. Mandrake as a company is trying to make a living. But they
still give you the option of obtaining the distro for free. I'm sure
someone will be able to point you to a download site.

"Rick" <none@trollfeed.com> wrote in post
pan.2005.03.11.21.09.18.602399@trollfeed.com on 3/11/05 2:09 PM:

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 11:51:19 -0700, Snit wrote:

"Tom Shelton" <tom@YOUKNOWTHEDRILLmtogden.com> wrote in post
FykYd.15$Oq5.645@news.uswest.net on 3/11/05 10:28 AM:

In article <BE5721EB.8F9F%SNIT@CABLE0NE.NET.INVALID>, Snit wrote:
First, thanks to all the people who suggested I look at Mandrake. Decided
to download it today.

Until I realized that Mandrake is not free.

Here we have what I understand is one of the most popular distros of Linux,
and people are paying for it. What happened to the idea that the free ones
are just as good? And for the $50-60 Mandrake would cost me, it does not
even come with a media player... though more expensive versions do. And
that is if I download it and burn it myself. If I want a boxed edition I
am
sure it costs more...

What am I missing? If the free Linux distros are as good, why is Mandrake
so popular? Is there a free way to download Mandrake that I missed on the
site?

Do not get me wrong - for a relatively small amount you still get quite a
bit - a whole OS, graphics editing package, office package, etc. But
something just does not add up here...



I see mandrake on linuxiso.org.... You might try getting it there.

Thanks... after the post I saw that there is a free version... still, makes
me wonder how popular the paid for version is and why...
--
I am one of only .3% of people who have avoided becoming a statistic.


Read the Mandrake pages.

I suspected you would not have anything to add... again, you do not show
you know not a think about Linux that I do not.

"Rick" <none@trollfeed.com> wrote in post
pan.2005.03.11.21.11.49.593540@trollfeed.com on 3/11/05 2:11 PM:

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 12:25:52 -0700, Snit wrote:

"Kier" <vallon@tiscali.co.uk> wrote in post
pan.2005.03.11.19.20.17.945979@tiscali.co.uk on 3/11/05 12:20 PM:

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 11:51:19 -0700, Snit wrote:

"Tom Shelton" <tom@YOUKNOWTHEDRILLmtogden.com> wrote in post
FykYd.15$Oq5.645@news.uswest.net on 3/11/05 10:28 AM:

In article <BE5721EB.8F9F%SNIT@CABLE0NE.NET.INVALID>, Snit wrote:
First, thanks to all the people who suggested I look at Mandrake.
Decided
to download it today.

Until I realized that Mandrake is not free.

Here we have what I understand is one of the most popular distros of
Linux,
and people are paying for it. What happened to the idea that the free
ones
are just as good? And for the $50-60 Mandrake would cost me, it does not
even come with a media player... though more expensive versions do. And
that is if I download it and burn it myself. If I want a boxed edition I
am sure it costs more...

What am I missing? If the free Linux distros are as good, why is
Mandrake
so popular? Is there a free way to download Mandrake that I missed on
the
site?

Do not get me wrong - for a relatively small amount you still get quite a
bit - a whole OS, graphics editing package, office package, etc. But
something just does not add up here...

I see mandrake on linuxiso.org.... You might try getting it there.

Thanks... after the post I saw that there is a free version... still, makes
me wonder how popular the paid for version is and why...

Why should it not be popular, just because you have to pay? IMO, it's
worth the money for the extras, like drivers, and the manuals. But you can
get most of what's on it for nothing, if you search around. A lot of it's
convenience. A complete newbie would get on much better with a retail box.

I agree... which is one reason why most of the free distros of Linux would
not suit the needs of the new user.


You may now tell us why White Box,Fedora, Ubuntu, or the community
Mandrake does not suit the needs of the 'new user'.

Do you believe those are "most" of the free distros, Rick? Let's start
there, and then we can look at the details of those distros.

"Rick" <none@trollfeed.com> wrote in post
pan.2005.03.11.21.08.31.622846@trollfeed.com on 3/11/05 2:08 PM:

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 12:31:44 -0700, Snit wrote:

"Kier" <vallon@tiscali.co.uk> wrote in post
pan.2005.03.11.17.50.14.480553@tiscali.co.uk on 3/11/05 10:50 AM:

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 10:22:35 -0700, Snit wrote:

First, thanks to all the people who suggested I look at Mandrake.
Decided
to download it today.

Until I realized that Mandrake is not free.

Of course it is, if you get a download edition. Or a covermount. 10.1
Official is out on one of the magazines, and the community editon has
been
on a couple of others recently.


Here we have what I understand is one of the most popular distros of
Linux,
and people are paying for it. What happened to the idea that the free
ones
are just as good? And for the $50-60 Mandrake would cost me, it does
not
even come with a media player... though more expensive versions do. And
that is if I download it and burn it myself. If I want a boxed edition
I
am
sure it costs more...

Where did you find that $50-60 editon without a media player? On the
Linux
Magazine DVD of Mandrake 10.1 Official, I find listed under Multimedia:
Xmms and noatun, both of which are music players, and Xine and Mplayer,
which are DVD/CD/vidoe file players - you might need to download a few
codecs, or libdvdcss for DVD playing, but that's all. And once you set up
urpmi with the mandrake repositories, you have access to all the Official
distros software.

http://www.mandrakesoft.com/products/101/comparison

The list there does not have a check mark for the cheap version.

The free version is available on Mandrake's mirrors and with various
magazines.

Way to go... I already said I found the free versions. Again - do you know
*anything* about Linux a newbie like I does not?

"Rick" <none@trollfeed.com> wrote in post
pan.2005.03.11.21.09.18.602399@trollfeed.com on 3/11/05 2:09 PM:

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 11:51:19 -0700, Snit wrote:

"Tom Shelton" <tom@YOUKNOWTHEDRILLmtogden.com> wrote in post
FykYd.15$Oq5.645@news.uswest.net on 3/11/05 10:28 AM:

In article <BE5721EB.8F9F%SNIT@CABLE0NE.NET.INVALID>, Snit wrote:
First, thanks to all the people who suggested I look at Mandrake.
Decided
to download it today.

Until I realized that Mandrake is not free.

Here we have what I understand is one of the most popular distros of
Linux,
and people are paying for it. What happened to the idea that the free
ones
are just as good? And for the $50-60 Mandrake would cost me, it does
not
even come with a media player... though more expensive versions do. And
that is if I download it and burn it myself. If I want a boxed edition
I
am
sure it costs more...

What am I missing? If the free Linux distros are as good, why is
Mandrake
so popular? Is there a free way to download Mandrake that I missed on
the
site?

Do not get me wrong - for a relatively small amount you still get quite
a
bit - a whole OS, graphics editing package, office package, etc. But
something just does not add up here...



I see mandrake on linuxiso.org.... You might try getting it there.

Thanks... after the post I saw that there is a free version... still,
makes
me wonder how popular the paid for version is and why...
--
I am one of only .3% of people who have avoided becoming a statistic.


Read the Mandrake pages.

I suspected you would not have anything to add... again, you do not show
youknow not a think about Linux that I do not.

"Kier" <vallon@tiscali.co.uk> wrote in post
pan.2005.03.11.21.11.39.118421@tiscali.co.uk on 3/11/05 2:11 PM:

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 12:25:52 -0700, Snit wrote:

"Kier" <vallon@tiscali.co.uk> wrote in post
pan.2005.03.11.19.20.17.945979@tiscali.co.uk on 3/11/05 12:20 PM:

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 11:51:19 -0700, Snit wrote:

"Tom Shelton" <tom@YOUKNOWTHEDRILLmtogden.com> wrote in post
FykYd.15$Oq5.645@news.uswest.net on 3/11/05 10:28 AM:

In article <BE5721EB.8F9F%SNIT@CABLE0NE.NET.INVALID>, Snit wrote:
First, thanks to all the people who suggested I look at Mandrake.
Decided
to download it today.

Until I realized that Mandrake is not free.

Here we have what I understand is one of the most popular distros of
Linux,
and people are paying for it. What happened to the idea that the free
ones
are just as good? And for the $50-60 Mandrake would cost me, it does not
even come with a media player... though more expensive versions do. And
that is if I download it and burn it myself. If I want a boxed edition I
am sure it costs more...

What am I missing? If the free Linux distros are as good, why is
Mandrake
so popular? Is there a free way to download Mandrake that I missed on
the
site?

Do not get me wrong - for a relatively small amount you still get quite a
bit - a whole OS, graphics editing package, office package, etc. But
something just does not add up here...

I see mandrake on linuxiso.org.... You might try getting it there.

Thanks... after the post I saw that there is a free version... still, makes
me wonder how popular the paid for version is and why...

Why should it not be popular, just because you have to pay? IMO, it's
worth the money for the extras, like drivers, and the manuals. But you can
get most of what's on it for nothing, if you search around. A lot of it's
convenience. A complete newbie would get on much better with a retail box.

I agree... which is one reason why most of the free distros of Linux would
not suit the needs of the new user.



Depends very much on the user.

Fair enough - I am thinking of terms of the non-techy new users... they type
I see all the time in classes and work with as clients.

A comprehensive book on Linux and a download edition can be just as good as a
boxed edition, except for the additonal software, which as I said can be
obtained without great difficulty if desired. I was a Red Hat user for a time,
and had the Red Hat Linux 9 Bible with the three-CD set included. The book's
about three inches thick and has just about all you info a nuew user would
need to use Red Hat (now Fedora Core) effectively.

I'm fortunatate in that I have a brother who is an experienced Linux user
to help me, but I daresay I could have managed well enough by myself with
perseverence. Once you get past the set-up stage, and you've got
everything working, most of your problems are over. Correctly set up, it
should just work.

The free distro versions aren't that different from the paid ones except
in the ways already mentioned, and they are mostly trivial, IMO.

Then why do people pay?

"Kier" <vallon@tiscali.co.uk> wrote in post
pan.2005.03.11.21.11.39.118421@tiscali.co.uk on 3/11/05 2:11 PM:

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 12:25:52 -0700, Snit wrote:

"Kier" <vallon@tiscali.co.uk> wrote in post
pan.2005.03.11.19.20.17.945979@tiscali.co.uk on 3/11/05 12:20 PM:

On Fri, 11 Mar 2005 11:51:19 -0700, Snit wrote:

"Tom Shelton" <tom@YOUKNOWTHEDRILLmtogden.com> wrote in post
FykYd.15$Oq5.645@news.uswest.net on 3/11/05 10:28 AM:

In article <BE5721EB.8F9F%SNIT@CABLE0NE.NET.INVALID>, Snit wrote:
First, thanks to all the people who suggested I look at Mandrake.
Decided
to download it today.

Until I realized that Mandrake is not free.

Here we have what I understand is one of the most popular distros of
Linux,
and people are paying for it. What happened to the idea that the free
ones
are just as good? And for the $50-60 Mandrake would cost me, it does not
even come with a media player... though more expensive versions do. And
that is if I download it and burn it myself. If I want a boxed edition I
am sure it costs more...

What am I missing? If the free Linux distros are as good, why is
Mandrake
so popular? Is there a free way to download Mandrake that I missed on
the
site?

Do not get me wrong - for a relatively small amount you still get quite a
bit - a whole OS, graphics editing package, office package, etc. But
something just does not add up here...

I see mandrake on linuxiso.org.... You might try getting it there.

Thanks... after the post I saw that there is a free version... still, makes
me wonder how popular the paid for version is and why...

Why should it not be popular, just because you have to pay? IMO, it's
worth the money for the extras, like drivers, and the manuals. But you can
get most of what's on it for nothing, if you search around. A lot of it's
convenience. A complete newbie would get on much better with a retail box.

I agree... which is one reason why most of the free distros of Linux would
not suit the needs of the new user.



Depends very much on the user.

Fair enough - I am thinking of terms of the non-techy new users... they type
I see all the time in classes and work with as clients.

A comprehensive book on Linux and a download edition can be just as good as a
boxed edition, except for the additonal software, which as I said can be
obtained without great difficulty if desired. I was a Red Hat user for a time,
and had the Red Hat Linux 9 Bible with the three-CD set included. The book's
about three inches thick and has just about all you info a nuew user would
need to use Red Hat (now Fedora Core) effectively.

I'm fortunatate in that I have a brother who is an experienced Linux user
to help me, but I daresay I could have managed well enough by myself with
perseverence. Once you get past the set-up stage, and you've got
everything working, most of your problems are over. Correctly set up, it
should just work.

The free distro versions aren't that different from the paid ones except
in the ways already mentioned, and they are mostly trivial, IMO.

Then why do people pay?