Mandriva Linux 2008 is now available for download on the official site (release announcement), and on the network of public mirror servers. 2008 includes all the latest software and enhancements over previous Mandriva releases. You will find KDE 3.5.7 and the new GNOME 2.20 already integrated, kernel 2.6.22.9 with fair scheduling support, OpenOffice.org 2.2.1, a 3D-accelerated desktop (Compiz Fusion and Metisse), Firefox 2.0.0.6, and much more. You can read about the new features of Mandriva Linux 2008 in depth in the Release Tour. The release notes contain important information on changes from previous releases. The errata will contain information on any future known issues and solutions for them.
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Member since:2005-07-06
#2 is indeed just a teething issue while we sort the online repositories out. If you remove your repositories and reconfigure them, you should find that either a) it works or b) they won't set themselves up at all any more. Hope for a). 
If you get b), it should turn itself into a) if you try again tomorrow.
#4, what graphics card do you have? Are you using Free or One?
Member since:2005-07-12
I'm using Mandriva One.
The graphics card is an onboard Via CLE266.
I will most definitely try the repos again, BTW.
Also, do you have any hot tips regarding the numlock thing, based on my previous description.
BTW - thanks for your response. As my previous post stated, I'm in a pro-Debian, non-RPM phase right now. But I'm actually wanting to really give both Mandriva and openSuSE a good college try.
Both have put out great distros in the past (Mandrake 10 was far and above the best distro I'd used at the time of it's release).
Plus, I'm somewhat bored with Debian, Ubuntu, and derivatives. Time for something different. :-)
Member since:2007-10-09
Member since:2006-01-09
While I agree with you in most points, I was surprised that you listed this as an annoyance:
1. Numlock is enabled by default. Mandriva even has a numlock daemon to make sure numlock is on. Also in Mandriva, in the KDE control center, under peripherals, keyboard, the numlock toggle is on by default. OK, fine, I turned off the stupid daemon, and turned off the toggle in KDE control center. But then I still had the problem when providing the root password (for apps that require it, like MCC). Yes, can still disable numlock manually with my laptop keyboard. But it's a huge annoyance, which has not happened to me with any other distro.
To me, it is usually the opposite. I appreciate a lot the Numlock on per default as a nice touch. However, I use Linux mostly on desktop systems so I can understand where your frustration comes from if you're using it on a laptop.
Perhaps they should add a conditional checking during the install procedure to enable it on desktop systems and disable it on laptops.
Member since:2006-04-19
#1 Actually, I really like that numlock is enabled by default. I always install it on other distros. So, it's a matter of taste...
#4 You are using the CLE266, the same chip that my Laptop uses. That gfx-chip is afaik not able to perform 3D-stuff in any decent way on any linux or other OS, it never was.
Member since:2005-07-12
"You are using the CLE266, the same chip that my Laptop uses. That gfx-chip is afaik not able to perform 3D-stuff in any decent way on any linux or other OS, it never was."
Understood. Google Earth doesn't run on my lappy, no matter if it's Windows or any Linux distro. But what I'm talking about is running simple stuff like PlanetPenguin Racer.
On the aforementioned Debian based distros, PPRacer is smooth and fast (with this cheap-o lappy and Via chip), but on PCLinuxOS, openSuSE, and Mandriva, it's veeery sloooow and jerky.
GLGears shows the bits per second slow, if that means anything.
Not that PPRacer, or other similar games, is all that important to me (I'm not a gamer). But it's nice to have that diversion once in a while, and it's nice to know that the Distro install is making the best possible use of my hardware.
"The Internet is one of the most transformative technologies of our lifetimes. But for 2 out of every 3 people on earth, a fast, affordable Internet connection is still out of reach. And this is far from being a solved problem. There are many terrestrial challenges to Internet connectivity - jungles, archipelagos, mountains. There are also major cost challenges. Right now, for example, in most of the countries in the southern hemisphere, the cost of an Internet connection is more than a month's income. Solving these problems isn't simply a question of time: it requires looking at the problem of access from new angles. So today we're unveiling our latest moonshot from Google[x]: balloon-powered Internet access." Insane.
"MineAssemble is a tiny bootable Minecraft clone written partly in x86 assembly. I made it first and foremost because a university assignment required me to implement a game in assembly for a computer systems course. Because I had never implemented anything more complex than a 'Hello World' bootloader before, I decided I wanted to learn about writing my own kernel code at the same time. Note that the goal of this project was not to write highly efficient hand-optimized assembly code, but rather to have fun and write code that balances readability and speed. This is primarily accomplished by proper commenting and consistent code structuring." Just cool.
Jon Rubinstein, former CEO of Palm: "Well, I'm not sure I would have sold the company to HP. That's for sure. Talk about a waste. Not that I had any choice because when you sell a company you don't get to decide that. Obviously, the board and shareholders decide that. If we had known they were just going to shut it down and never really give it a chance to flourish, what would have been the point of selling the company? I think the deal we had with Verizon really hurt us, but who knew that at the time? These things are all hindsight.""And so it is with Dell's Alienware X51 R2, a small form factor gaming PC in console digs. It's shaped similar to Microsoft's Xbox 360 Slim, and though it's slightly larger than either a 360 or PlayStation 3, the X51 R2 would be right at home in a living room setting nestled next to a large screen TV. Indeed, it's adept at running Steam's Big Picture mode, and if your primary objective is to play games in the living room, go ahead and consider the X51 R2 a hybrid game console." This is obviously not the only machine like this - still, these are very valid console alternatives even for those that don't like being hunched over with a cramped WASD-claw. Also, PC gamers among us: could you get away with the $699 model for gaming?
From Bloomberg: "Microsoft, the world's largest software company, provides intelligence agencies with information about bugs in its popular software before it publicly releases a fix, according to two people familiar with the process. That information can be used to protect government computers and to access the computers of terrorists or military foes." The lid has officially been blown off.
"The key takeaway we've reached (after two less than 24 hours playing with the iOS 7 Beta release) is this - every App must consider even basic updates to its UI to survive in a post-iOS 6 world." Great. Telling developers to update their entire application - user interface and behaviour alike - to target a look and behaviour that isn't final yet. Seems like potential for a lot of wasted work here."Overall the app is really basic, and designed for on the go editing. Microsoft says it's not planning to create an iPad version, noting that tablet users can utilize the Office Web Apps instead. We'd like to see some additional options for editing, including more clear options for text formatting and the ability to insert and change images, but it's a solid attempt for something you're only really going to use for editing in emergencies." A resounding meh can be heard from all over the world."Today, most people are using modern browsers that support the majority of the latest web technologies. Better yet, the usage of legacy browsers is declining significantly and newer browsers stay up to date automatically, which means the leading edge has become mainstream. Given these factors we've decided to retire Chrome Frame, and will cease support and updates for the product in January 2014." Eh.The Next Web: "First of all, many of the new icons were primarily designed by members of Apple's marketing and communications department, not the app design teams. From what we've heard, SVP of Design Jony Ive (also now Apple's head of Human Interaction) brought the print and web marketing design team in to set the look and color palette of the stock app icons. They then handed those off to the app design teams who did their own work on the 'interiors', with those palettes as a guide. We've also been hearing that there wasn't a whole lot of communication between the various teams behind say, Mail and Safari. And that there were multiple teams inside each group that were competing with various designs, leading to what some see as inconsistencies in icon design. Those may well be hammered out in days ahead." What. Reminds me of how Microsoft does (used to do?) things.
"The German Parliament, the Bundestag, has introduced a joint motion against software patents. The resolution urges the German government to take steps to limit the granting of patents on computer programs. In the resolution, the Parliament says that patents on software restrict developers from exercising their copyright privileges, including the right to distribute their programs as Free Software. They promote the creation of monopolies in the software market, and hurt innovation and job creation." After New Zealand, we now have one of the most powerful economies in the world moving to ban software patents for all the reasons smart people have been outlining for years. also: "The government should also push to ensure that software is covered by copyright alone, and that patent offices (including the European Patent Office) stop granting patents on software." Germany is not a country the EU can ignore. Very good news, this.
Member since:
2005-07-12
It's fast, easy, and looks gorgeous. Install was fast and easy. HD detection was pretty good.
However, there are some annoying "gotchas".
1. Numlock is enabled by default. Mandriva even has a numlock daemon to make sure numlock is on. Also in Mandriva, in the KDE control center, under peripherals, keyboard, the numlock toggle is on by default. OK, fine, I turned off the stupid daemon, and turned off the toggle in KDE control center. But then I still had the problem when providing the root password (for apps that require it, like MCC). Yes, can still disable numlock manually with my laptop keyboard. But it's a huge annoyance, which has not happened to me with any other distro.
2. RPMdrake is slick. It's fast and easy. However, when I selected a huge number of packages (lot's of Java stuff, and games, and such), it kept say "such and such package has a bad signature, do you want to install anyway?" This meant I had to keep hitting "Yes", over and over again. This might have to do with the Cooker repos Adam mentioned, but it was a huge annoyance nonetheless.
3. Upon logging into KDE, it went into a "Starting Services" screen, until I hit the enter button, and then the KDE desktop came back.
4. 3d acceleration failed. Not a biggie, but you can't run ppracer, or tuxkart, or other similar games, without it. It's also manually configurable, but all my attempts in doing so have failed.
These are all annoyances that make me not want to use Mandriva. Too bad, because it had a lot going for it.
I seem to be having bad luck with RPM distros of late:
The latest Fedora failed in configuring X on my laptop.
SuSE 10.3 was a disaster (tried it yesterday). It took 2-1/2 hours to install, it's fonts kept getting messed up, it's slab menu was very bulky and inefficient, and it was pretty heavy on resources.
PCLinuxOS, while pretty great with most things, failed to have 3d acceleration enabled. I want this, and I don't have the time to figure out how to do it manually.
I've had much, much, much better luck with Debian and Ubuntu, and derivatives. Deb + Apt is much better than RPM + yum/yast/urpmi, and the Debian/Ubuntu repos are much more vast and well managed than any of the RPM repos. HD detection in Debian distros is flawless for my hardware (all peripherals work perfectly, video is flawless - with 3d acceleration, no numluck problems, etc). Heck, even plain ol' Debian Etch has given me a vastly superior experience to any of the RPM distros - Debian Etch is almost as user friendly as Ubuntu.
I also like Slackware and derivatives, but they require too much manual configuration for my tastes.
So, it's Debian and derivatives for me. I think Debian and Debian based distros have gone far ahead of the rest of the pack. Unless RPM distros start getting their act together, Debian and Ubuntu and derivatives will dominate (and deservedly so).
Edited 2007-10-09 21:21