I dont rate my experiance as good.
I bought mandrake 7 cos it said "voice type " on the box (ok so idid not
read it carefully[enough]) and expected a fully configured and useable
system.
I wrote asking how to dual boot os2 , when will voice type be released as a
useable programme and that I was upset to find or registering that 7.1 was
already out.
Macmillan replied that some work had been done on os2 but they did not know
what!
which is crazy when you concider all the work IBM are doing making
programmes availiable to linux.
and that I could easilly update to 7.1 online,
Well I've tried and I can not, first it does not seem availiable on the
update system and second when I try I get a constant list of failures and
warning of bugs!
finally I tried a 7.1 disc that I found on a linux mag and although it said
"complete" it seems to be a demo, and has messed up the linux installation.
I think the newbe list should be changed to or backed up by a database of
all normal problems, this would take out 90% of the succesive quiries so
that attention could be given to the questions not on the database.
peter bunce
ps anyone know if SuSI linux 7 can be bought loaded and used I mean used
for SOHO work, without all the wasted time I've now spent, not getting
anywhere with Mandrake?
Benjamin Sher wrote:
> Dear friends:
>
> What has your experience been like with Linux-Mandrake, i.e. Macmillan's
> free guaranteed email tech support?
>
> I have been using Linux for nearly two years and have supported it
> financially by purchasing its CD's. I began with Red Hat's 5.2 Power
> Pack (or whatever it was called then), then switched to Mandrake: since
> then, I have purchased the Mandrake 6.1 Power Pack, then the Mandrake
> 7.0 Power Pack and now the Macmillan Mandrake De Luxe Edition.
>
> I was most fortunate in having very strong and generous support during
> the critical first months from our Linux mailing lists, first the Red
> Hat list, then the Mandrake lists. Similarly, I was very pleased with
> Red Hat's 30-day email support. After registering Rh 5.2, I would send
> my questions to Red Hat and receive a very professional response within
> 24 hours. Of course, their free tech support, as is the case for most
> distro's, is understandably limited to INSTALLATION issues only, but
> their email tech support was professional, reliable and prompt.
>
> I much prefer Linux-Mandrake to Red Hat. In fact, I have looked at the
> various distro offerings (and new ones, as they are issued) and have
> come to the conclusion (though I am an ORDINARY user, NOT a programmer),
> that Linux-Mandrake, with the richest set of features (such as
> DrakConf), a fabulous installation program, every desktop environment
> you could wish and more applications than you could ever dream of and
> very user-friendly, plus the fact that it supports Red Hat rpms, is
> optimized for 586 and has security built in, is the ideal distro. As you
> can tell, I am extremely pleased with Linux-Mandrake and look forward to
> each new version with much excitement.
>
> HOWEVER, I cannot help but wonder whether, like me, some of you are
> perhaps less than thrilled or even dissatisfied with Macmillan's very
> limited tech support. Since Macmillan is now the official, exclusive
> distributor of Linux-Mandrake in North America, it is, I believe, fair
> to ask our Mandrake 7.1 users who have purchased Mandrake from
> Macmillain what their expectations and experiences have been like.
>
> First of all, some of you may not know that Macmillan's free email tech
> support (and, if you are no longer a newbie, try to imagine yourself
> being one) is limited to exactly TWO free incidents. I repeat: TWO FREE
> INCIDENTS AND NOT ONE MORE. Anything beyond that costs money.
>
> Secondly, let me share my experience with you: I registered my LM Deluxe
> with Macmillan online on a Tuesday night and sent them a letter
> concerning lilo configuration of my Linux/Win98 system. According to the
> agreement that you are required to sign, you are entitled to 2 incidents
> and are promised that you will receive a response within 24 hours (that
> is, during working days). I did NOT receive a response for at least 5
> working days. When it arrived, the response was admittedly professional.
> I was pleased with that. But I was not pleased by the lack of
> promptness.
>
> I am by now an "old hand" :-) at installing, configuring and
> reinstalling my Linux, etc. But even for an "old hand", it would seem
> that 2 incidents are just not enough. For a newbie, this is, I believe,
> terribly unfair. He/she certainly deserves a lot more than that. I would
> suggest at least 10 incidents per user.
>
> What have your experiences with Macmillan's tech support been like? What
> are your feelings on the subject?
>
> I am raising this issue as a way of helping newbies get the tech support
> they deserve and as a way of making Mandrake aware of the situation.
>
> Is Macmillan Mandrake doing a good job of providing free email tech
> support to its customers, especially for newbies, or not? And is it
> doing enough? And has it been prompt?
>
> And what about those of you who get your Mandrake from Mandrake itself
> (I guess in Europe). How good and how extensive is Mandrake's own
> guaranteed 100 day free email tech support?
>
> Yours,
>
> Benjamin
>
>
> Benjamin and Anna Sher
> Sher's Russian Web
> http://www.websher.net
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
