Peter
For the first ever FOSSwire review, I'm going to take a look at the popular Linux distribution Mandriva; more specifically, their latest free-of-charge desktop outing Mandriva Free 2007.
Mandriva, originally called Mandrake, was born from the code of Red Hat 5.1 and its aim was to create a KDE-based Linux distribution (in those days KDE wasn't GPL, and Red Hat didn't want to include it for that reason).
And eight years on, we have Mandriva 2007. It's a distro aimed at newer users of Linux, and in fact there are several versions of the distribution which are boxed commercial products (Discovery, PowerPack and PowerPack Plus). The Free edition that I tested out isn't one of these boxed copies and is the only free-to-download version.
Installation
This edition isn't a Live CD like Ubuntu, so after popping it into the drive and rebooting, you launch straight into the install program where you get to work installing. While it's a shame you can't boot in straight away and test it out, Ubuntu is well ahead of most distributions in this respect, so it doesn't put Mandriva behind the pack, just not in front of it either.
The installer is attractive and echoes the Windows installer layout of having the tasks to perform listed on the left and the working area on the right.
After the obligatory language and licence agreement stages, you head into a rather strange installation screen asking you about security settings. This threw me a bit at first, as I expected something like a security setup to be done on the first boot, after we'd got all the stuff installed. It's not that the explanation of the choices on screen is bad, it just seems a bit out-of-place choosing this setting at that stage.
For the review installation, I left the defaults intact and just moved on.
The rest of the install process is pretty standard. For the purposes of the review, I installed Mandriva Free inside a virtual machine, so I didn't really bother with the partitioning settings and just let it have the whole disk. However, partitioning is something that is very important and often quite difficult for new users. Since I didn't take a look at it here, I can't comment on Mandriva's implementation.
Interestingly, however, once the install process is up and running and the file copying has started, you see advertisements for a few commercial apps on Mandriva, including LinDVD (from the people who brought you WinDVD), Cedega (a solution for running Windows games on Linux) among others. There's another potential opportunity for confusion here, sadly. While these apps are bundled with and supported by Mandriva on the boxed copies of the distro, they don't appear in the Free edition, and it could be a bit misleading advertising these products during install and not actually bundling them.
Incidentally, Mandriva are one of the few distributions left that offer boxed versions aimed at the home user, and also to bundle proprietary software with their OS. We'll leave the argument about whether proprietary software should be left in for another day, but there's no doubting that seeing some familiar names (such as Skype and RealPlayer) reassures new users until they learn to use the other apps.
All in all, though, the installer is a solid and slick piece of software that gets the job done nicely.
First boot
After the install, we're asked to reboot to go into our new OS (as per usual). We go straight into a first boot screen which asks us to fill in a questionnaire and then set up a Mandriva account. It's optional, of course, but it's another unusual move for Mandriva. Having said that, as I mentioned before, they're of a dying breed of distributions that sell boxed copies, so perhaps it's understandable that they want to make Mandriva 'sticky'. It's pretty much a known fact that most Linux users don't have that much distribution loyalty, such that if one distribution fails to meet their needs, they will switch without hesitation, so I guess this is Mandriva's way of trying to make you feel loyal to the distro.
The desktop
As we login for the first time, we're greeted with a blue themed and customised KDE desktop. It's not as unconventional as Ubuntu's gold/brown/whatever colour you want to call it, but it's an attractive default theme.
Desktop integration is done well. The custom Firefox theme and using native KDE styles makes Firefox look the part with KDE apps (something which isn't always done very well in KDE distros) and the rest of the applications are very tightly integrated. Unfortuantely, it's only Firefox 1.5, but with a bit of luck Mandriva will update it to 2.0 via the update system very shortly.
There's no Xandros-style renaming of applications to make them more newbie-friendly (Konqueror is called File Manager and Amarok is called Music Manager for example) which means the common complaint of the application names not describing themselves well is still a problem in Mandriva. Renaming all the apps à la Xandros would likely infuriate intermediate to advanced Linux users, however.
The spit and polish of Mandriva's desktop is there, but somehow I just don't see it quite feeling as unique as Ubuntu's default configuration, for example. The desktop integrates together well, but somehow feels quite generic (especially to me, a long-time KDE user) as just "KDE with a star instead of a K menu".
Mandriva's configuration tools
Mandriva includes the Mandriva Control Centre, a graphical software package to administer the system. It's very well designed; the interface is clear, and I think it eases the task of administering a Linux desktop, especially for the new user.
There's also an Expert Mode, which enables a few extra functions. While it's good that this compromises for both not scaring new users and allowing experts to work at their level, it's pretty likely that a Linux expert will be able to do these kind of tasks from the command line anyway.
My only other gripe with the Mandriva Control Centre is that it's far too easy to confuse with the KDE Control Centre (the latter being for changing desktop settings, not whole computer settings). I imagine it would be very easy for the new Windows-convert to be ridiculously confused about which is which, and I think this is something that needs addressing for the next version. Rename the KDE Control Centre to Desktop Settings, and I'm happy.
My next rant - the update manager is really poor. It seems cluttered and confusing, and I couldn't get it to work at all, even after registering for a Mandriva Account. I'm sure the boxed copies allow you to get updates loaded quickly, but it wasn't clear whether the free version was eligible for updates and how to get it working. I left Mandriva completely confused - and considering the aim of this distro to be at the new user, I didn't bother trying it from the command line.
I remain very unimpressed with the update system.
Conclusion
Mandriva isn't a bad operating system. In fact, for the most part, I think it's very usable and easy to get working with. There are a few disappointing elements of the system, particularly in the region of software updates.
The 'commercialised' feel in a Linux distribution isn't something I've been used to for a while. In fact, I haven't really experienced it since I bought my first ever version of Linux, a boxed copy of SUSE 9.0 Personal (before SUSE got bought out by Novell). It's a very different way of doing things. With community-based distributions like Fedora and Ubuntu gaining mind and market share within the Linux niche, it's easy to forget that there are commercially marketed products aimed at the desktop still.
I think it's vitally important for the success of Linux on the desktop for it to have a shelf presence. After all, it's what brought me into the FOSS world and when you're a complete novice, you don't fully 'get' how un-commercialised Linux is for quite a while. It's great that Mandriva's out there doing the shelf duties in computer shops and I think Mandriva Free is a good distribution, but I'm not convinced that it's the best - overall, or for the new user.
Personally, I'd still recommend Ubuntu for anyone trying out Linux for the first time (and I use Fedora on my main desktop, so I'm not blindly shepherding people to my distro of choice). Where Mandriva isn't there - updates, software management and complete friendliness, Ubuntu makes up for it. However, if you want the benefit of some proprietary software pre-installed for you, one of the boxed editions of Mandriva is not a bad choice to make (also consider Linspire).
But if you have a spare couple of hours and a free machine in which to install it, download Mandriva Free 2007 and give it a go. It might not blow you away, but it's a solid operating system product with a lot of potential.
And a quick footnote - Gaël Duval, one of the original Mandriva people, who was fired in March 2006, has started a project called Ulteo. It's currently only in beta, but it's worth watching as it promises to be quite a worthy competitor of Mandriva.
