Mandriva Linux 2009.0 Review : A Mixed Bag

'Mandriva Linux 2009.0 Review : A Mixed Bag'

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Mandriva is the leading European Linux distributor. It was founded in 1998 under the name Mandrake, producing the Linux Mandrake distribution. The name Mandriva was adopted in 2005, following a merger between Mandrake and Conectiva (a Brazilian Linux distributor) and also a trademark lawsuit in which Mandrake was sued by Hearst Publications, an American company which syndicates a comic strip named Mandrake the Magician. Mandriva Linux earlier known as Mandrake Linux was first released on July 1'st 1998. The first release was based on Red Hat and KDE..

Mandriva has gained huge reputation for delivering easy to use Linux distro with support for many multimedia and proprietary format. Earlier when Mandriva was known as Mandrake, it was the most popular GNU/Linux but some unavoidable circumstances turns the table towards Mandriva and after that Mandriva didn't stood up like it used to.. Mandriva 2009.0 “10th Anniversary Version†will focus more on providing user friendly and usable distro out of the box.. Just like other popular distro, Mandriva thrives on latest and cutting edge technology to provide the best available tools and applications to end users to ease their Desktop Experience..



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Mandriva 2009.0 features latest Desktop Environments, tools and application to attract more and more users .. Tagged the most user friendly distro , Mandriva 2009.0 try to live up to the expectations … Mandriva 2009.0 packs in a lot of changes including the inclusion of the latest gun of Open Source community i.e. KDE 4 [KDE 4.1.2 to be specific] . Other software that comes with Mandriva 2009.0 are Gnome 2.24 , LXDE, KDE 3.5.10 in repositories.. Apart from this Mandriva has revamped its Free and Powerpack Installer with new looks and features. Though there hardly any changes to the One Installer..



2009.0 did disappoint on the software front as it includes few pre-released and unstable software. . On the software front you will notice all new release that will try to provide a solid desktop experience if not bad.. Mandriva 2009.0 includes Linux Kernel 2.6.27 rc8, Xorg 7.3, Compiz Fusion 0.78, KDE 4.1.2, Pulse Audio Sound Server, gcc 4.2.3, glibc 2.8.1..



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Mandriva 2009.0 One edition featuring KDE 4 focuses on providing more and more KDE 4 applications but since many of the KDE 4 applications are still under development you won't be able to get your hands on them.. Mandriva One 2009.0 includes lots of software like Amarok 1.90 Beta 2 , Open Office 3.0 RC 2 , Firefox 3.0.3, The Gimp 2.4.7.. In addition to these you will be provided with basic K application or the Gnome application that usually Desktop Environment ships with it...

Mandriva doesn't disappoint other audience who are accustomed of using different Desktop Environment. To meet the need to those people Mandriva ships in different DE's like Gnome 2.24.0, LXDE and several other accessible from online repositories ..Mandriva includes value added addons in Gnome edition like addition of Empathy IM client and ability to play TV like BBC and you Tube through Totem Video Player..

[BREAK=The Derivatives]

“The Derivativesâ€

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Mandriva provide different version of Linux to please different audience.. From Free to Paid and to Pen Drive its all there ..All you need is to choose the one that suites your needs.. Each edition has its own stronghold and has different set of tools and artwork..Majority of tools and base software remains the same.. The basic difference lies in the proprietary codecs and softwares provided..

Mandriva One : Mandriva One is the flagship edition .. Provided at free of cost .. Mandriva One is a Live CD version which means you can use the distro without installing it on your system. There are eight different versions of One available: four KDE, and four GNOME. For both KDE and GNOME there are four different versions which differ only in the languages included. Mandriva uses it own X Server instead of X.org X-Server, this provide a more stable and complete environment for perfect booting thus minimizing the risk of boot failure .. In addition to this Mandriva One consists of lots of Hardware drivers , providing support for latest graphics, sound and motherboard chipset..

Mandriva One comes with support for various proprietary & free multimedia formats like Ogg, Mp3, Mp4, AVI, DAT, WMA, MPEG 1, MPEG 2, MKV and Quicktime files. Though the default Media Player “Dragon Player†Fails to play some of these files despite codecs are installed.. Installing a different player will fix the problem..

Mandriva ONE KDE edition comes with Dragon Player , Amarok 2 Beta 2 , Open Office 3.0 RC2, Firefox 3.0.3, Ktorrent 3.13, Kget Download Manager, GIMP 2.4.7, Sweeper and Kpaint.



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Note : K3B is not included in the KDE version as the KDE 4 port of K3B isn't stable enough to be included in the distro and installing the KDE 3 version will bloat the OS with KDE 3 dependencies therefore Mandriva SA thought of dropping K3B for 2009.0..

Kget though comes pre-installed though there is no icon of Kget under Internet section so you have to manually add it through Menu Editor..

Mandriva 2009.0 has tweaked its boot process due to which Mandriva has more swift booting .. Mandriva now has 25% faster boot process than its older versions.. Mandirva One is only available for 32bit i586/i686 system . There is no support for X86/64 system..
Mandriva Free : Mandriva Free is second Free alternative to One edition.. Mandriva Free is total free and open source OS.. it doesn't include any proprietary and multimedia codecs.. Mandriva 2009.0 Free Edition has lots of improvement over the 2008.1 Free . The 2008.1 Free edition failed to load the program in my computer but the 2009.0 ran perfectly ..

The Free edition comes in two edition i.e. it supports both 32 bit and 64bit PCs. Mandriva free Edition comes in DVD and 3 Cd's format providing access to huge libre of softwares and DE's .. Yes Mandriva Free allow you to choose KDE, Gnome and LXDE while installation..

Mandriva Free is not a Live CD distro means you have to install it before using !

Mandriva Free adds more software to One like Kgames , Filezilla , Gnu Cash, Homebank etc..

Mandriva Powerpack : Mandriva's premium offering is a hybird of both One and Powerpack . Mandriva powerpack is best of both worlds.. It comes with support for nearly each and every multimedia codec and has proprietary software applications like LinDVD, Fluendo codecs Pack , Transgaming Software Cedega, and professional CD/DVD burner software..

Apart from these you get access to /restricted repositories which allows you to get access to premium Linux software..Mandriva Powerpack is a paid version which will set you back by $60 , but its worth the money, you get all that commercial codecs and commercial/online support from Mandriva Staff.





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Mandriva Flash : Mandriva set the trend of providing commercial Pen Drive Linux, Mandriva optimize its powerpack version to fit the pen drive and perform according to it. .Currently Mandriva didn't ship the 2009 version of Mandriva Flash .. Mandriva Flash comes in 8Gb flash drive with easy option to set up and installation options.. Few cool features are ezboot that allow to boot even if your BIOS options didn't set to boot through Flash/USB drives, you can even install the flash version if you like..



Few New addons that are part of 2009.0 are :-
  • Mandriva 2009.0 Free and Powerpack install DE according to system specification.. Like if your computer is underpowered then it will suggest you to install Gnome/LXDE instead of KDE.
  • Mandriva 2009.0 Installer has added a post-installation cleaning system which offers automatically to remove packages that are not used by your system.. Like unwanted drivers and codecs.. Indeed a great addons which will eventually save disk space and improve overall boot timings..
  • Mandriva 2009.0 Free/Powerpack comes with a redesigned installer that will help you install the Operating System easily , not only this the new installer allows you view a snapshot of the Desktop Environment before installing..
[BREAK=Booting & Installation]

“Booting & Installationâ€

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Mandriva release its 2009.0 in the early October.. Soon after the release I was itching to get my hands on it.. But this time I don't have to depend on Monthly Magz to ship Cd's with them, thanks to my new improved Internet connection. Though I could have updated my previous Mandriva 2008.1 setup I insisted on downloading the new ISO to test in a fresh environment..

I download Mandriva One 2009.0 KDE i686 based Live CD from Mandriva site and burnt it using K3B .. I restarted my system and popped the cd to experience a whole new OS. As usual Mandriva starts with a faint Boot Loader which is very pleasing . The artwork is nice as usual.. I kept on booting.. My system is pretty Open Source friendly, I hardly experience any boot fail with any OS .. So did with Mandriva it booted perfectly..



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You will notice a change in Boot Loader. i.e. Splashy replaces the old Boot Splash.. Splashy includes some improvements over bootsplash, but also some regressions. The main problem of Splashy is that it didn't show full Graphical boot through the booting process , at the starting and at the end you will notice verbose mode which doesn't look good.. Apart from that if you press Esc key to see the Verbose mode you cannot return back to graphical mode which was a feature of Bootsplash .. The main disadvantage is that Splashy lacks cryptsetup encryption software, due to which system fails to boot if you have encrypted your System Partitions using the new encrypter during install or from diskdrake ..

After the Booting finished I was asked to set up my keyboard, localisation, time zone and desktop effects.. Finishing this bring in a stunning Ksplash … Mandriva Artwok team has done a great job in producing extraordinary Ksplash with every release..

Finally I was on to my desktop. This time there were only 3 Icons. i.e. Install , Upgrade to Powerpack , Register Mandriva Product.

I was not in a hurry to install it so I fiddled around a bit to see some software and tools mandriva shipped .. I was really shocked to noticed that Mandirva didn't included a CD/DVD bruner software. KDE guys should have finalized the K3B in time as there are very few alternatives of burning software in Linux !

Well finally I started Installing , nothing new here everything was same . The installation this time was a bit slow, compared to 2008.1 Installation.. After the installation finished the installer asked to me to remove extra localizations and drivers which are not used by my desktop.. This is a great addition to installer , not only it saves space it saves you from unnecessary updates .. Having low packages improve boot time..



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Mandriva installer now provides the ability to encrypt the partitions while the installation providing much better security for paranoid and conscious users..The installer was as usual simple though I would like to see some pop-up like thing specially in the partitioning part , which will help newbies to proceed..

There are few regressions in the Live CD database , users across the world have reported that their country is not on the list .. The grub can detect other Os installation and adds it to the list..

[BREAK=Tools & Applications]

“Tools & Applicationsâ€

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Mandriva always thrives to provide the best available tools and applications to the end user making sure that they get the best out there and enjoy it to the full extent.. But since Mandriva made transition to KDE 4 as their default desktop, there is current lack of application for KDE 4 since most of them are under development...Apart from the base software the number and type of applications differ from the version and desktop manager that you choose for yourself..

Linux Kernel : Mandriva 2009.0 comes with the latest version of Linux Kernel 2.6.27 with major improvement done to provide hassle free computing.. kernel-laptop has been removed from the kernel as the existing kernel-desktop is quite efficient in handling both laptops and desktops.. Mandriva has included the latest Alsa 1.0.18 rc3 which has support for several newly released HD Sound cards , major support for X-FI based cards still lacks. Creative has finally provided the X-FI drivers which will debut with Alsa 1.0.19. Mandriva Linux 2009 includes the latest available version of ALSA [at the time of release] along with several dozen patches to provide or improve support for specific implementations of the HDA codec.

Unlike previous Mandriva release, 2009.0 now has support for 4Gb Ram for i586/686 systems. Previous release failed to detect ram more than 1 Gb..

Developers has added several patches and improvements to provide better hardware support , in addition to these latest drivers of nvidia and ati has been added to aid better Graphics card recognition. Mandriva has added Nvidia Forceware 177.70 and Ati Catalyst 8.8 though these drivers are bit outdated but still works well .



All currently available NVIDIA graphics cards, up to and including the GeForce GTX 2xx series are supported. As with ATI owners of mighty 48XX seirses should not face any problem with 2D or 3D acceleration .. Support for older X1XXX series of adapters hasn't shown much improvements :|



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3D acceleration is supported for both card through manufacturer proprietary drivers i.e. aiglx and fglrx respectively.. Which is available in One and Powerpack edition and users of Mandriva Free edition can add it through Public Non-Free repositories.

Newer version of both Ati and Nvidia are available in the repos.. Still there is not update for RC kernel, Alsa and VGA drivers.

Software Manager and Updater : Mandriva uses rpmdrake which is a GUI front for URPMI package manager.. Not the greatest but Mandriva URPMI has received some speed improvements along with a new repositories manager. If you have working connection at the first boot all repositories will be managed that time only or you can do it while opening Repos Manager or Rpmdrake for the first time..



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Adding repositories have never been that simple.. Now repos are added automatically on the basis of geographical locations using Aria2. Aria2 is configured to be adaptive and try the nearest mirrors to achieve best download speed. Though if you want you can manually add repositories..

Though rpmdrake is a great GUI front for URPMI it does allow you to make search on the basis of description , but all the package descriptions are stored over net and can only be downloaded if you click on a package.. Downloading information of the package sometimes becomes frustrating and get on nerves.. Also if you are not an expert you might mistook it as package installation as the case with Linux.com review..

Internet Tools : The only section that currently shine in KDE 4 applications libre.. Yep nearly all the Internet tools and applications have been developed and ported to KDE 4 with new features and astonishing looks.

Mandriva has added two great internet browsers Firefox 3.0.3 as the default and Konqueror as the additional browser.. Yep Konqueror as a browser ! Though Konqueror has shined the most in universal document viewer field but its current development makes it more of a browser than the UDF or File Manager.. and drastic improvements in Dolphin leaves no choice for Konqueror..



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Mandriva has added Kopete 0.60.2 and Ekiga 2.0.12 as the default Instant Messenger and VOIP softwares.. Mandriva 2009.0 didn't ship the latest Ekiga 3.0 as the release schedule of Ekiga finished after the Package Freeze of Mandriva so it didn't make sense to increase the Feature/Package freeze for few softwares..



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This time Mandriva has added both Torrent as well as Download Manager.. Kopete and Kget are both come pre-installed.. But Kget icon is missing from the Internet section, which you can manually add it through Menu Editor ..Both softwares has evolved much and their KDE 4 port is just fantastic.. With plethora of new features and options these are the best download manager ever developed for KDE...



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Here is a list of other Internet Applications that comes pre-installed :
  1. Kaddress Book : One stop for storing huge list of address..
  2. Akeragator : Rss Feed reader
  3. Kbluetooth 4 : Easily Manage Bluetooth devices and send/receive files with ease..
  4. Kmail : KDE E-mail client.
  5. Knet Attach : Network Folder Attachment Utility.
  6. Knode : E-News Reader
  7. Kontact : Personal Information Manager
  8. Korganizer : Organize daily schedule and programs easily.
  9. KRDC Remote Desktop Client
  10. Tight VNC : A Terminal based VN configurator.
  11. VNC : A utility help you configure your Virtual Networks.


Office & Productive Suites : Mandrivs ships the latest version of Open Office i.e. OOO 3.0 rc2 .. Another release candidate application ..The Open Office suite consists of Word, Spreadsheet, Database, Presentation and Drawing.. Mandriva again didn't included Open Office Math.

Open Office 3.0 has some major improvements over the previous version. I haven't yet tested it completely but I was really impressed with new slides and custom animation feature of OOO Impress..Mandriva didn't include Sun Java or its Open Source derivative OpenJDK.. As a result of which you can miss few OpenOffice functions..

You can easily create/edit documents, spreadsheets,presentations/slides, flow charts etc with the help of Open Office.. Another office suites available from online repositories are Gnome Office and Abiword..



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You can find the developments version of Koffice 2.0 in Cooker ..Which will be pushed to repos after the final product released …

kpdf has been replaced with newer and smarted pdf/universal document reader Okular.. Its a new document reader which can read E-books and several other format apart from pdf files... There is no OCR support in Okular like in Evince Document reader of Gnome..



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Graphics Editors & Tools : Mandriva did included multiple Graphics program this time to provide an alternate to GIMP if you are not used to GIMP Interface..

Mandriva include the older version of Gimp , Gimp 2.4.7 , Gimp 2.6.0 was released after the feature freeze therefore gimp 2.6 didn't make it to the application database.. You can install Gimp from repos , although Gimp 2.6 is marked as unstable in the description part .. Donno why ?

Mandriva include KolourPaint , the KDE Paint Program with MS Paint like interface making it easier for you to do low editing and drawing ..



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For Picture View and management Mandriva ships Gwenview replaces Digikam.. Usually Mandriva ships digiKam as the default Photo management software since the KDE 4 port of digiKam 0.10 will be released in December you have to wait for it..



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Other Graphics Tools included are :
  1. KolourChooser : Colour Chooser
  2. Ksnapshot : Screeshot capturing utility.
Sound & Multimedia : Mandriva outgunn most of the professional distro in this department.. Whether its plugins or applications bundled.. Mandriva included Amarok Beta 2 as the default Audio player .. Being the Beta Version you won't be able to use it to its full potential ...But it works pretty well.

On the Video Player front major KDE player Kaffiene is under development and to meet users need KDE guys came up with a basic Video Player known as Dragon Player.. . It fails to play video format despite the codec is installed.. Mandriva Errata has marked it as a bug but I really don't like the player.. The Equalizer and function just don't match to Kaffiene quality.. I was able and unable to play avi and other format at the same time.. Yep don't know why but the player played Miss You.avi but failed to play Somewhere I belong.avi …



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I had similar problem with Amarok too .. I cannot play Enrique “Spanish Tracks†coupled wih few english one too.. Same things happened with LP tracks too.. I think phonon need to be blamed for this rather than pointing towards the player...

Pulse Audio is the default Sound Server for all your volume needs but if you want something more complex and pronounced for mixing volume Kmix is installed for you..



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Mandriva includes Codeina and Totem Media Player to ease the codec installation if you are unsure what to do when a file fails to play .. But since both these are Gnome applications they fill force you to install G-Streamer codecs instead of Xine..

TvTime and Kscd has been added increasing the multimedia spectrum..

Codecs : Mandriva One comes with support for various proprietary & free multimedia formats like Ogg, Mp3, Mp4, AVI, DAT, WMA, MPEG 1, MPEG 2, MKV and Quicktime files. Though the default Media Player “Dragon Player†Fails to play some of these files despite codecs are installed.. Installing a different player will fix the problem..

The Firefox comes with Adobe Flash Player preinstalled giving you out of the box experience of premier flash based sites like You-Tube and Miniclip.

Mandriva didn't come with any Java plugin this time making it hard for you to view Java content out of the box. Though the Spring 2008.1 version cam with Java for Open Office and application but this time no Java Environment has been shipped..

Tools & Utilities : Mandriva Control Center the best known easy to use configuration center in Linux world has been redesigned .. The newer looks are downright gorgeous making it more easy and fun for you to use and configure yours system.. With MCC at your end you will never feel deserted …

In 2009.0 there hasn't been much update to tools , but few options like Parental Control has gained new features like time based restriction and better integration of Blocked and Approved lists of websites... Restrictions can now be based on time - access to certain sites can be allowed or denied at certain times.



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Network Manager is the next tool that received major update..Mandriva's networking configuration tools have added support for several more cellular data devices and providers and improved signal level detection for wireless connections... You can now use you 3G Internet Connection without any hassle , just few click and you are configured to use you net right away ..



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Printer Configuration Tool printerdrake has been replaced system-config-printer which is originally developed by Fedora ..



Mandriva Linux 2009 introduces a new authentication scheme called tcb - the alternative to shadow. The tcb suite is designed to better protect user passwords when fully switched to the tcb scheme …

Mandriva URPMI has added a new function which automatically detects orphan and unused packages and assist user as they are not utilized and is just hogging the system.



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Note: The printer configuration utility is not pre-installed in One Edition. This is a bug which has been reported , to use printer using this utility please install system-config-printer.



Mandriva doesn't include GDB , the crash report generator tool, so if KDE 4 crahs and ask you send report you won't be able to do that as the error generator isn't installed.. You can install it from Add/Remove if you care about reporting bugs..

Few useful utilities come installed in the One Edition of 2009.0 : -
  1. Ark : Archiving Tool for KDE.
  2. CCSM 0.78 : Configuration System For Compiz Fusion 0.78
  3. Sweeper System Cleaner : A Cccleaner like utility
  4. Few Accessibility tools like Kmag ScreenMagnifier, Kmouse Tool Auto Mouse Click, Kmouth Speech Synthesizer, kttsmgr Text To speech Manager..


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[BREAK=Hardware & Design]

“Hardware & Designâ€

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Linux had problem with hardware support but with newer release of Kernels , support from hardware manufacturer , support in patching kernel paved a new way and now support of hardware has improved drastically.. Since Mandriva 2009.0 comes with the latest Kernel 2.6.27 you won't find it hard to get it working out of the box.. The latest Kernel coupled with Mandriva's own Xserver loaded with proprietary drivers and codec make it a more real and usable ..

With Kernel 2.6.27 loaded Mandriva has lots of advantages as it now support a lot of Webcams, with the inclusion of Nvidia Forceware 177.70 [177.80 in repositories], Ati Catalyst 8.8 you will be able to use the latest VGA adapters to their full potential in both 2-D and 3-D environment..

All currently available NVIDIA graphics cards, up to and including the GeForce GTX 2xx series are supported. As with ATI owners of mighty 48XX seirses should not face any problem with 2D or 3D acceleration .. Though support for older X1XXX series of adapters hasn't shown much improvements :|



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All currently available Intel graphics adapters, including the recently-released G41 chipsets, are fully supported out of the box, with 3D acceleration and 3D desktop functionality. The version of the intel X.org driver included is 2.4.2, with patches for G41 support added.

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You will even find graphics support for VIA / S3 UniChrome / Chrome9, SiS 670 / 671-based adapters, AMD Geode GX/LX .. However the manufacturer doesn't provide drivers to utilise 3-D effects .So if you are using these VGA adapters you cannot use Compiz or Metisse Desktops..

Mandriva includes the latest Alsa 1.0.18 rc3 which bring support for latest HD based soundcard for different vendors , since Creative failed to deliver proper X-FI driver in time [not yet completed] you will have issue getting your XFI working .. Alsa 1.0.19 will probably include support for Creative XFI based high end sound cards..

Mandriva has included the newly released Artheros drivers for better wifi support..Specific improvements include the inclusion of the rt2860 driver for Realtek 2860 chipsets, which are used in many recent netbooks and laptops. Also, the entirely free software ath5k and ath9k drivers replace the previously used, partly proprietary madwifi driver, for Atheros chipsets.



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Mandriva 2009.0 claims to include substantially improved support for Netbooks over the 2008.1 spring edition..Though I don't own a netbook I can't test it on Netbook.. But watching over the forum and Errata I could see people has some problem after all..

Due to lack of KDE modules you fill find that additional Media keys won't work and if you have a laptop then KDE 4 will not suspend if you close the lid.. This is another missing feature of kde4powersaver.. Absence of kmilo in KDE 4 will hinder the use of Multimedia keys so until it is available you have to configure each key through kmix if you want to use it..



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Since Mandrive One didn't come with printer configuration by default you won't be able to use it without installing , after everything done you will get your printer working ..

Artwork & Design : Addition of KDE 4 itself makes a stunning desktop but Mandriva effort to take it one step further was great.. The Artwork was icing on the cake. Though I was really disappointed with the La Ora implementation for KDE 4. The Windows border is too thin and having black text on the Windows decoration just looks pathetic...

But wallpaper both in One and Free edition was great.. Evolved from finger like projection to coloured lines and flower like structure the wallpaper sure looks great. The wallpaper reminiscent about Indian way to art a bit..



New & Improved Screensavers

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The Log In / Off Screen just looks pathetic.. Though they tried to keep it similar to the 2008.1 edition they ended up with cheap looking Screen.. Ksplash as always mesmerize me every time I see it..

Mandriva uses the default Oxygen Icon theme which is the best yet available theme for KDE 4 desktop.

Mandriva Menu Button has also gone through some radical changes , this time its a plasmoid and looks more mature and professional than the earlier releases..



Mandriva Menu Style

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The Log In and Out sound scheme hasn't changed a bit. .Its nice but I was hoping for a newer tune.. There is some conflict between Start Up sound and Mandriva network applet , the sound stops in the middle, immediately after the Network Applet loads..



By default Mandriva comes with Mandriva Menu but there are options to change it. .this time you get handful of options like Kick Off , and Lancelot Menu Styles.. So you won't get bored using the same thing again and again...



Lancelot Menu Style

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To remind you all Mandriva edition has different set of artwork , One and Powerpack has similar looking but Free comes with total different artwork.....



Kick Off Menu Style

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[BREAK=Conclusion]

“Conclusionâ€

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Despite for all the glitches and hiccups Mandriva 2009.0 is a promising release.. People must be grumbling about the inclusion of KDE 4 but its inevitable, it has to be done now or then.. Mandirva has to include the latest DE to ensure every one get the best of Linux World.. This time things aren't going Mandriva way but since 2009.0 will form the base for 2009.1 and Corporate Server 5 its okay for me..

Mandriva guys couldn't do much about the software part as the major software for KDE 4 aren't fully developed and including them all will lead to a unstable operating system which doesn't makes sense..Installing Gnome/KDE 3 application doesn't makes any sense as it would rather bloat your Os with unwanted dependencies and utilities..

Mandriva did improved radically on boot speed and software front but I would like to see some practical changes through rpmdrake. It needs to be rewritten , like automatic downloading information sometimes hangs the system, if you don't have net connection working at that time you have to terminate the rpmdrake as it gets hangs.. There is no way to search packages on the basis of description while you are offline like in Synaptic Package Manager, since Mandriva include only one GUI front for URPMI they have to make sure that it get the job done well..

Thing will definitely improve with time and regular updates.. Kde 4.1 still needs some refinements hopefully KDE 4.2 will bring smile to KDE users faces.. But still 4.1 is more usable..

If you want my opinion 2009.0 isn't the best release.. I won't recommend it if you are upgrading from 2008.1 .. But if you want to discover new thing give 2009.0 a ride, the swhirl of new packages is an enticing reason to upgrade but if you want a desktop for work get the Gnome version rather than the usual KDE 4 version.. KDE 4 crash a lot of time.. So better stick to gnome...

I would say go for Mandriva 2009.0 but stay away from KDE 4 version as it doesn't have useful utilities to get work done.. The major drawback in no K3b is available.. Stick to gnome for now and play around with KDE 4.

On the community part, Mandriva has a great community whether it Mandriva Club , Forum or Mailing List. On the forum front you will get your things fixed up within no time , there are documents available but there aren't any document released for 2009.0 as of now..

Pros :
  1. User Friendly and Intuitive Interface.
  2. Revamped Installer and Mandriva Control Center
  3. Nifty Addons like Orphan Package Remover , Sweeper, and Post Install cleanup.
  4. Huge Repositories.
  5. Hardware Support
  6. Parental Control.
Cons :
  1. Inclusion of Pre-Released and Unstable Softwares.
  2. La Ora KDE 4 Implementation.
  3. Flaws in Rpmdrake.
  4. No Disc Burning Software in One KDE.
  5. No updates for RC and Pre-Released Software Yet..
  6. Older version of Xorg Xserver and Vga drivers
  7. No Weekly/Monthly Newsletter !
Mandriva 2009.0 could have been a better and more stable release if they could have delayed it by few days.. I was having a lot of hope from Mandriva and I am pretty unsatisfied this time.. But the Gnome version is good as compared to KDE 4 version so I hopefully be installing Gnome through the Free DVD soon..As for me I am going to use it. No matter what other distro come up with.. I just can't migrate to Gnome after using the great KDE 4.. and in the rpm distro Mandriva package manager stands above the rest..
  1. Booting & Installation : 4 / 5
  2. Graphics & Eyecandy : 3.5 / 5
  3. Software Management : 3.5 / 5
  4. Support & Documents : 3 / 5
  5. Hardware Support : 4 / 5
  6. Performance and Stability : 3.5 /5
  7. Overall : 3.5 / 5
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You can get Mandriva from Mandriva Download Center.. : - Download | Mandriva

To Order Power Pack edition check Mandriva Linux distributions - Mandriva Linux Powerpack 2009 - Mandriva Store

Be a part of Mandriva Linux Fest 2009.0 , or join me at CHD Mandriva Install Fest.. lug-northindia : Linux Users Group North India | Worldwide Mandriva Linux 2009 install fest - Mandriva Community Wiki

Keep the comments and suggestion coming :)

Regards Darky ;)
 
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Another great review - repped - (although I just skimmed thru and read the conclusion page) :p Linux distros are steadily improving with their frequent/regular release cycles, KDE4 should force GNOME to come with some good stuff as well for their 3.0 series. Personally I'm continuing with Ubuntu on my desktop and tablet :D
 
Few points that I forgot to mention :

1. Live CD doesn't shut down, you have to manually shut down PC and remove the CD..

2. Aria2 sometimes fail to recognize area and doesn't alllow to install things..

3. Mandriva 2009.0 have perfect boot record , no like 2008.1 leading to blackout after boot or flickering of the screen !

I was even able to add another monitor without having any problems..Finally Mandriva oublishes Linux Kernel Update to 2.6.27.4

Will keep you updated..
 
Hi
Today I got Mandriva free from Linux for you . I installed it over my One installation of the same..

I noticed few things that I think I should point :
  1. I cannot open NTFS drivers from My Computer of Gnome but I can read and write it from /mnt/xyz
  2. Free doesn't contain Codecs and Drivers but the version I install plays Mp3 , AVi and Mkv format or even more though I haven;t tested it much !
  3. I was unable to access ext3 partitions from KDE 4 dolphin ,was prompted by some hal error !

One thing I really liked is that Free Comes with KDE 3 apps , like K3b and plethora of great stuff,awesome games, and Mabel :D
Will keep you updated on more experience.
Regards
 
A mixed bag and 3 out of 5 in your little head only. I own Mandriva Power Pack and NO Linux doesn't have to be free on the contrary even Torvalds agrees it should be a technology that can be sold. Win Vista Ultimate cost over 400$ and people don't complain why complain to pay less than 100$ for Mandriva Power Pack. Stellar performance I enjoyed, superb selection of packages, excellent rpm management, very good support from dedicated staff on the mandriva expert site, loaded with DVD, music players. Suse Linux supported by Novell and that I used to like and its counterpart Suse Entreprise Desktop I found a big disapointement. Test the Power Pack one tha may clear your judgement a bit. Unless you are one of these Ubuntu freaks Ubuntu ok but you get what you paid for namely it is free.

On a positive note great snapshots. I wonder what you hate the distroso much, fortunately you are the only one that so far has had a negative experience. Again review the Power Pack version. You might like it.
 
^lol :lol: Have you ever been to the Errata of Mandriva 2009.0 it hs lots of problem.. Also if it works for you its great, even I used Mandriva 2009.0 for a long time I liked it a lot but still I don't feel the pleasure I felt with 2008.1 Spring Edition...

As far as Ubuntu fan :p I am not a Ubuntu fan neither i use it ... I never had -ver impression, if you been through my posts you might have found that I still suggest Mandriva over anyother distro.. Its because of simplicity..

Powerpack doesn't offer much over One and free edition juts bunch of few paid s/w and nothing else.. The base and code remains the same in all the offerings from Mandriva !
 
@linuxfan: here's an ubuntu fan 4u (me) ive tried out various distros (free versions not paid) and still find ubuntu's ease of use and package management unbeatable :)
 
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