To all those who have been reluctant to try Mandrake 8.0 because of others' reported problems: Go for it! I've been playing around with Linux on my desktop since Red Hat 5.2, and have stayed with Mandrake through the past few releases, but I am by no means an expert when it comes to *any* operating system. My computer is a fairly ordinary Pentium III machine that has two of the supposed no-nos: a VIA chipset and Western Digital drives. Despite all this, Mandrake 8.0 installed as easily as any version of Windows I've ever tried (3.1 through 98SE) and is has been almost completely trouble-free after a few weeks of operation as a desktop (not server) machine. Granted, Mandrake 8.0 is not perfect, but it's "weaknesses" are really my fault. Take USB: My system as a Visioneer scanner, a Hewlett-Packard 8230 CD burner and an HP Deskjet 932C printer connected to the USB bus. Mandrake's installer detected the printer as the Deskjet 930C (same printer less some home-oriented software) and works beautifully using the 930C drivers; the same was true using Mandrake 7.1 and 7.2, but with 8.0 the detection and setup are even smoother. This is a major improvement over Windows 98SE, which requires a less-than-intuitive installation procedure and sometimes won't work with the 932C at all. The CD burner was detected but not properly installed, something I could probably correct if I'd just sit down and do a little reading. (Version 7.2 knew *something* was there but couldn't couldn't identify it, much less install it.) As for the scanner, I knew before I bought it that Visioneer scanners were never intended for use with anything except Windows -- and for that matter, getting it to work under Win98SE isn't exactly a no-brainer. I'll probably end up giving the scanner to my Windows-using sister and buying one that I know is supported by Linux. Anti-alias fonts seem to be a non-issue with me. I checked the "use antialiased fonts" box, increased the default font sizes to 14-point (I have a 19-inch monitor, but I also sit several feet away from it), and stayed with the default Helvetica and Courier fonts -- everything looks beautiful except the "End KDE session?" dialog box, and that's no big deal. Oh, did I mention that I'm using an nVIDIA TNT2 Model 64 video card with the default "nv" driver? I don't play games a lot, so I don't know just how good this setup would be for demanding 3-D graphics, but for my uses it's just fine. The biggest problem new Linux users have, IMHO, is laziness when it comes to reading documentation. Granted, longtime computer users don't usually need the manuals for initial setup and Windows users quickly become spoiled by Microsoft's do-it-all installers; but when it comes to Linux it's always a good idea to read at least the first few pages of the installation manual before attempting installation. After it's installed, you will almost certainly want to refer to the manual a time or two in order to get everything working to your satisfaction. No, I don't always follow my own advice when it comes to reading the manuals -- but at least I've learned that when something goes wrong, almost always it's my own fault for not reading and following the instructions. Keep those manuals handy, read them in the bathroom, read them instead of grabbing the TV remote during commercials, do whatever it takes to benefit from the knowledge printed on those pages! (And if you're really a newbie to Linux, don't even *think* about trying to install Linux without a good manual. Buy a boxed set now, and leave the downloaded distributions and disc-only purchases from Cheap Bytes until you know your way around this Unix-like operating system.) The *second-biggest* problem people have with Linux is trying to run it with inadequate hardware. Yes, it imay be possible to run a minimal Linux system on a 386 with 4MB of RAM and a small hard drive -- but to do anything really useful you'll want at least a fast 486 with 16MB or more of RAM, and recent Mandrake releases are designed for Pentium-and-better processors. If you have enough RAM and hard drive capacity to run Windows 9X, you can install Mandrake, but I personally recommend at least 64 MB RAM and at least 2GB of available drive capacity; my computer has 128MB and a total (on two hard drives) of around 16MB, which is overkill today but may be just right in the future. The hardware category includes peripherals too, of course, and this is where newbies and experienced Linux users alike seem to get into a lot of trouble. With Linux, the "latest and greatest" isn't necessarily a good idea but checking the Linux Hardware Database definitely is. Microsoft has the clout to essentially force manufacturers to make their devices Windows compatible, but Linux doesn't -- not yet, at least. As a result, many of the Linux drivers for peripherals are written by Linux users rather than the hard-parts vendors, and in some cases (i.e. "windows modems") the devices may never be usable under a non-Windows OS. A "hardware" modem may cost a few dollars more than the cheap controllerless unit from the same company that's "designed for Windows", but it's money well spent. As for USB and other recent technologies, don't buy anything unless you know for a fact that it is supported under Linux. You may pay a little more and work a little harder during installation -- but this will be offset by the money you'll save by avoiding the "Microsoft Tax" and the time and effort you'll save by using an Os that doesn't crash frequently. -- Walter Luffman, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Medina, TN USA Supercharged with extra glucose! (Type 2 diabetic 5/99, d/e/m) "Sage", purple 1998 Honda VT1100C Shadow Spirit
