Linux journalist Joe Barr looks at Mandrake Linux 8.2 in a review over at LinuxWorld. In the review, he reports “
The second installation went just as smoothly as the first. The only difference being that I had the laptop connected to the cable modem. When I got to the same point the second time, I selected a site to download the updated apps from and clicked OK. After connecting to the site, I was presented a list of applications to choose from, with 20 or so “preselected” updates already checked. I accepted the default list and clicked OK again. About 20 minutes later (this could be much longer if you have a 56Kb dialup line instead of broadband Internet access) I had the latest security or bug enhanced versions of those applications.”
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Mandrake 8.2's install process — as do those of other modern Linux distributions — removes problematic installs from the list of barriers to switching to Linux. It is as easy to install as Windows. The Windows installation advantage is simply that it doesn't have to be installed, it's that it is pre-installed. Is it perfect? Hardly. Witness the missing locate . There are bound to be hardware combinations that will bring even Mandrake's smooth installation process some grief. On my mainstream notebook, it couldn't have been much easier.”