Is Mandrake 7.2 beta?

[Kardinal]

And if it is, is it worth installing or should I just go for 7.1? Also, Is Slackware a nightmare for a newbie to install?

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My Slug;
Celeron 566@850 mhz
256 mg ram
13 gig IDE hdd
HP cd writer plus 9300IDE
40x IDE cdrom
Riva tnt2u
SBLIVE
...reminds me of my old Cyrix :(

[BLuBoY]

I know that the only beta is KDE2 and if you register the product Linux Mandrake there's a check box dat they will send you free KDE2 Final Release Cdrom.

[Derango]

That realy depends on where you get it. If you download the ISO from their web site (or order it on CD-ROM from somewhere like cheapbytes or linux central), You get the stable version (KDE2 included, the stable version is included).

If you buy the boxed set from somewhere like wal-mart, you get the beta KDE2.

Which distro to choose realy depenends on you. If you just want a system that works right out of the box, then go for Mandrake 7.2. However, because it does so much for you, you realy don't learn quite as much. Slackware is good for the learning aspect of thing, because it basicly forces you to set up a lot of your hardware. If you like experimentation and don't mind working to get things running, Slackware is for you.

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This space For Rent

[CMonster]

A Celeron 566@850 is no slug http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/wink.gif

Even the beta KDE2 works pertty good. Some of the shipments reaching stores now may be up to date - mine wasn't.

February 12 SuSE is shipping 7.1 which includes 2.4 kernel and the latest libs and such - it might be worth waiting for.

EDIT: Note concerning learning Linux; I find it easier and less frustrating with a distribution like Mandrake because I can use GUI tools to configure things (networking for example) and then examine the changes it makes in the scripts and config files.

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CMonster says, "You can't choose the right OS if you don't have a choice."

[This message has been edited by CMonster (edited 29 January 2001).]

[Kardinal]

Thanks guys. In the end I downloaded the iso's off mandrakes site and have installed it. I see what you mean when you say it does it all for you. A great distro in some ways and depressing in others. It made me feel a tad stupid letting it do it's thing while I just sat back and watched. It did remind me too much of bills pile of **** but as for my first 'proper' install I'm happy with it. The option of setting up cable modem access was pretty but didn't actually work. Anyway all of your advice was great, thanks again guys.