| Version | RedHat Linux 9 | |||||
| Installation | Failed, said the partition table on hda was unreadable and would not continue unless I gave it carte-blanche to take over the disk. | |||||
| Change Screen Resolution | ||||||
| Word Processing | ||||||
| Mount Data CD | ||||||
| Play Audio CD | ||||||
| Play MP3's | ||||||
| Play DVD | ||||||
| Play Internet Radio Station | ||||||
| Rip and Encode MP3's | ||||||
| Burn CD | ||||||
| Printer | ||||||
| Digital Camera | ||||||
| Scanner | ||||||
| Additonal Software Installation | ||||||
| Geek Stuff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ssh and scp | ||||||
| vi | ||||||
| emacs | ||||||
Lycoris
I thought the Lycoris system had the best, cleanest menu system of any of the Linuxes I tested. However, since most of the tasks I tried didn't work I really cannot recommend it. If they get to the point where all of the stuff works it will be a great system for a Linux newcomer.
Lindows OS
I completely disagree with Consumer Reports on this one. I was able to accomplish almost all of the tasks I tried. It was very easy to install the software. This was the only Linux that was able to play a DVD (I am guessing that was because I downloaded it from Click-N-Run, and so Lindows could license it?). I thought the menu was a little more confusing than Lycoris'. It appeared to me that they tried to copy the menu layout of Windows, but some things were in a different place, so I had to look around. The one thing that I thought was harder than it should have been, was the printer set up. The printer set up on both the SuSE and Mandrake was basically one or two clicks and it was done. But all in all, I feel that even a newcomer to Linux would be able to accomplish all of the tasks one would expect from an under $300 PC.
SuSE
I like SuSE Linux quite a bit. I use it on my machine at work and I prefer doing software development on it instead of Mandrake. But I don't feel that it would make as good a system for a first-timer. The names in the menu in many cases are not obvious and on several tasks it was not easy to figure out how to make it work.
Mandrake
In Mandrake I was able to accomplish every task except for playing a DVD and encoding MP3's. Both of which are no doubt due to licensing issues. It is an excellent distribution and I feel that both newcomers and more advanced users could use it successfully. I replaced Gentoo Linux on one of my machines at home with Mandrake because sometimes it's more important to be able to plug in a printer, scanner or camera and have it just work. (As opposed to recompiling the kernel ;-)
RedHat
Since I couldn't get it to install without a lot of grief, I can't say much about it. I know it won't play MP3's because RedHat has an issue with them. From my past experiences, I would say it is not good for a Linux newcomer. I don't know if they have improved the software installation process since I last tried it, but last time I did it (about 8.something), it was a horrible nightmare. I finally gave up and installed Debian on that machine.
Conclusion
My opinion is that a Linux newcomer would do well with either Lindows OS or Mandrake. I don't recommend they try Lycoris, SuSE, or RedHat.
| Distribution: | Lycoris | Lindows OS 4.0 | SuSE 8.2 | Mandrake 9.1 | RedHat 9 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Installation | Failed | Simple | Pro-active | Pretty Simple, Mostly passive | Failed | |
| Change Screen Resolution | Yes | Yes, but limited choices | Yes | Yes | ||
| Word Processing | KWord | OpenOffice, Click-N-Run | OpenOffice | OpenOffice | ||
| Mount Data CD | Automount | Automount | Automount, Manual Unmount | Automount | ||
| Play Audio CD | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Play MP3's | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Play DVD | No (missing decoder) | Yes, Click-N-Run | No (missing decoder) | No (missing decoder) | ||
| Play Internet Radio Station | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Rip and Encode MP3's | No | No | No MP3, Yes Ogg Vorbis | |||
| Burn CD | No | Yes | No | Yes | ||
| Printer | No | Yes, complicated | Yes, simple | Yes, simple | ||
| Digital Camera | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Scanner | No | No | No | Yes | ||
| Additonal Software Installation | Confusing | Click-N-Run, Simple, Easy | YaST2, Fairly Easy | RPM Drake, Fairly Easy | ||
| Geek Stuff | ||||||
| ssh and scp | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | ||
| vi | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| emacs | No | No | No | No | ||
Links:
- http://www.lindows.com
- http://www.lycoris.com
- http://www.mandrakelinux.com
- http://www.redhat.com
- http://www.suse.com
- Walmart Computers & Peripherals
Please e-mail any questions, comments, etc. to: sedwards@xmission.com - © Copyright 2003 - J. Scott Edwards, QRW Software
- "Introduction"
- "WalMart.com Lycoris Linux PC"
- "Lindows OS 4.0"
- "SuSE Linux 8.2"
- "Mandrake Linux 9.1"
- "Red Hat Linux 9, Conclusion"
