[wplug] Mandrake 7.2

[Doug Green]

Yeah, it's a good distribution- probably my favorite so far. If you want
it to crash, start installing packages manually (ie: from a tarball). I've
installed 7.2 about 5 times on my two machines (work and home) and I've
learned my lesson. However it installs- LEAVE it that way, or stick with
their tools for upgrading (the update tool works very well). You CAN use
live update after a re-boot to add the "server package" (or workstation)
and it will just lump those packages on top of your original choice. Do
NOT do any of the following:

1) Compile software without using their package manager (it won't be
recognized and will cause mischief later- I think this is true for all rpm
distros, but I'm not sure)

2) DO NOT install ANYTHING from their "development" updates. They claim
that these are beta, which may be true for other systems, but they are
ALPHA at best for Mandrake. KDE 2.1 is a great example. If you want your
system to crash, update KDE. Although 2.1 is stable on other distros, it
is ABSOLUTELY NOT on Mandrake.

3) Install Helix-Gnome. This will seriously mess up your system.

4) Run "Live-Update" without rebooting between updates. 

This is a partial list, but basically treat the system with kid gloves and
it will NOT crash on you. My machine at work is being used (in addition to
my daily use) as a fileserver for a couple macs in my department, and
eventually a web proxy server with ad-blocking (squid/sleezeball- thanks
John! ;) ). Aside from the caveats listed above, it's an exceptionally
good system. However, be careful- if you find yourself configuring things
by hand, you are doing someting WRONG. Mandrake may not complain right
away, but it will come back to haunt you later. 

Doug

PS- DO NOT bother with Traktopel Betas (1 or 2). They are very "beta". 




On Sun, 25 Mar 2001, Dr. SDM (Linux) wrote:

> Has anyone tried Mandrake 7.2 yet.  I just downloaded the ISO today, and installed it.  So far it seems to be a very good server.  
> Some things have changed though, but other than that I can't get it to crash!!!
> 
> Just to let everyone know
> Dr. SDM
>