Mandriva Linux: The Next Generation Distro?

Mandriva Linux: The next generation Distro ?
[ Software Reviews ] posted by mewt Poster - What are these symbols?Recruit (1pts) -

What are these symbols? on Friday, June 03, 2005 4:18 PM
Linux is making a name for itself as a better and more secure system. Mandriva managed to fuse this with one of the most user friendly distributions ever created.


Mandriva Linux 2005: The Next Generation Distro ?

Linux ?? Woohaa! What's that ?!?!

Linux is becoming more of a frequent word when it comes to choosing an Operating System. Gone are the days when Windows was THE operating system for the average home user. Linux was then considered to be only for technical ppl or for those that could spend hours on end configuring their system. However the waters are shifting. Linux distributions have become better and more user friendly over the years while retaining their characterising stability. To prove this I have just run a completely new installation of Mandriva Linux 2005 limited edition. Mandriva Linux ( formerley known as Mandrake linux) has always been renowed as one of the most user friendly distributions available. Mandriva Linux is available for several architectures (types) of the cpu family. Mainly it is available for PPC (power PC ) which are machines running Motorola based Processors ( these are mainly Mac computers), i586 is for 32-bit processors both from Intel and AMD. These include the Intel Pentium 4 and The AMD athlon. (this is probably the distribution you need to get ) x86-64 is for processors which are 64-bit compatible such as the AMD64 processor.

The beginning: Getting the distro...

As all other linux distributions, Mandriva LE2005 is distributed under the GPL ( General public licence) and is available to everybody by downloading the appropriate cd images from one of the many public ftp servers and burning them to cd. Alternatively Mandriva may send you a boxed edition containing cds and manuals for the first time user for a reasonable fee. With this you get more software than one would get with the downloadable version. The last way to obtain linux distributions is as easy and is what I did...buy a computer magazine which has as give away cds a full linux distribution. In my case this month was Mandriva Linux and here I am writing this article using my free linux distribution using Open Office.org 1.1.4 which is a free office suite distributed with Mandriva Linux and many other Distros (more on this later). Remeber that all linux distribution cds can be copied freely and distributed, so if you get a distribution don't keep it for yourself but make copies and give it out to all your friends! BE careful to download the correct version for your processor class. Normally the typical home user would need the i586 version although this may not always be the case.

Preparation: Installing the System...

Mandriva comes as a bootable cd, this means that all one has to do to start the installation process is to turn on his computer and put in the first cd (or the dvd if using the dvd version) into the drive. This will load the setup process and load all information needed. Up till now nothing any more difficult that a windows installation right ? No...thought so :) The obvious thing to do in such a situation is to follow the instructions given. One important part of the setup is partitioning. Probably most of those installing Linux for the first time, will have windows as their main system. So how to install Mandriva and still retain your windows partition ? ( a partition is a section of the hard disk which is reserved entitrely for the operating system's use). Luckily enough Mandriva has thought of this and thus provides the option to remove some free space from the Windows partition and use it as space to install itself on. For a comfortable install 5-10 Gb of space are recommended. Other options are very straight forward. Setup will prompt you to choose a security level. Standard level is recommended for home users. You may set this to higher levels according to one's wish. However this might restrict some options and access. Such levels of security are only needed if the linux installation is intended for use as a server.
The nice thing about linux is the choice of what is to be installed. In windows you get very few options of what can be installed and what not, however in linux you can choose what to install. Such options include: Workstation ( this will install a complete Office suite), multimedia station ( Installs media players and movie players) and may others. Obviously help is given to understand better what each choice does. There is also a choice of servers which unless you know what you are doing, one should leave alone. These include Web and ftp servers: to be able to serve your own webpages from your computer. When one has chosen all the packages to install, these are installed. The last step of setup, after installation of packages is complete, is that to install a bootloader. This is a simple menu that will run everytime one turns on the computer and provides the facility to choose which operating system to be loaded...Windows or linux. The reamining options are that to enter a root password (this password is needed to be able to modify system files which are otherwise restricted) and add a user. Final options are setting up of mouse, keyboard, language and network settings. Done that rebooting is the only option left!


Setting up a Root password



Choosing which packages to install


Takeoff: Controlling the beast...erm.. penguin

Up till now I have reviewed the installation process, but what about the system itself ? Mandriva Linux instantly impresses the user with it's sleek appearance. The system, for those that love their windows counterpart, looks amazingly like that of Windows Xp. The Kicker (taskbar) has mainly the same features as it's counterpart in windows. It provides easy access to many programs and also encapsulates various applets in it. An example of a wonderful applet is Kweather that provides up to date weather information from various weather stations including the Maltese weather station in Luqa, thus I can have the current weather report at any time including wind force and dew point!
Mandriva also comes loaded with tons of programs according to the packages chosen during setup. A few are openoffice.org which is a complete office suite and is able to open Microsoft office files and is able to handle many file formats with added support to ecport files as pdf files. Also one finds a choice of multi-protocol instant messaging clients ( a client that can support msn, yahoo, jabber and many other protocols) These are Kopete and gaim and both have a myriad of features. Mandriva also comes with three web browsers to choose from ( yes you are spoilt for choice ;) ) This also includes the now famous Firefox browser which has now surpassed the 50 million download mark and is known to be the most secure browser in the browser market. Mandriva manages also to defy the popular belief that Linux is no good when it comes to multimedia performance. Not only Mandriva comes with programs to play music such as Totem media player and Kaffeine but also provides tools to edit music, play audio cds, rip audio cds and record audio. Image editing ? We got that too! Mandriva comes loaded with The Gimp, a first grade image editor, which have also been used to edit some of the screenshots taken. Screenshots can also be taken with the help of Ksnapshot, an excellent program which not only allows to take simple screenshots but also enables the selection of the area to be captured.
Mandriva's list of programs is almost unlimited, too much to list here, but to mention a few:

K3B – a first rate CD and DVD burner
ARK– File compression Utility
Nautilus – A very light but efficient File manager
Kwrite -- File editing utility
Kontact – Mail managing utility
Kdenlive – Video Editor


How your desktop will look with some proggies running


These are only a few of the many applications that can be found in Mandriva but what about installing new ones ? Mandriva Linux supports rpms. These are partly the equivalent of exe files in windows in the sense that they automate the process of installing new programs which would need to be compiled separately and installed in a more complicated process. Thus many websites of open source software offer pre-compiled rpms that can be installed on the system by a double-click. A good example of a program I installed on my new Mandriva Box was amsn ( http://amsn.sf.net ). Although the system has gaim and kopete which both support msn messaging, I prefer having a more dedicated program (although this is just a personal opinion). Thus I visited the amsn website and downloaded the Mandriva rpm. Double-clicked on it and Hey presto amsn was installed on my system and ready to be used.


The penguin gets an added bonus!

Mandriva Linux can also be updated to the latest secuurity fixes provided by Mandriva ( Mandriva is the company that produces Mandriva Linux ) through the very user friendly RpmDrake. Rpmdrake is a program that when run synchronises with one of the many mirrors available and lists any security updates, bug fixes or simple updates available for your system. This makes sure that the system is always secure and up to date with the click of a button. Through Rpmdrake, one can also install bug fixes for the various programs installed and also updates for them. One might argue that Linux can be quite a limited system without an internet connection, however it is no more limited than any other operating system with the added advantage that linux distributions are updated regularly with new releases that are used to upgrade the system.


Let the force be with you!

As you have seen, a Mandriva linux box is no more difficult to set up than a windows system. It is all very straight forward and easy to do, although this might seem much more complicated to the new user. Don't get discouraged though, Linux is all about trying out new things and learning more about one's computer. Thus as a last note, I'd like to remind that google has a linux only search engine at www.google.com/linux , where one can search linux related articles and tutorials. Also for those that do not want to plough ahead with a full linux install before trying out the system, they can download one of the live cds many famous distributions prepare. A live cd is a full system which works entirely from a cd-rom. Thus the data on any hard disks present is safe from damage while one can try out a new system. A few distributions that have live cds are Mandriva, Ubuntu and Mepis. Remember that the first distribution you try may not be the best one for you, so look around and see what is best for you! :D


The reviewers Rig:

Abit AS8 socket 775 motherboard
Intel Pentium 4 LGA775 800Fsb 1Mb cache with HT
2x 512Mb DDR400 corsair RAM
160Gb serial ata IBM hard disk with 8Mb cache
Sony DVD+RW 16x
Abit GeforceFx 5200 128Mb