Fedora or Mandrake?

pamount · #1 14th May 2004, 04:59 PM

Hi

I just picked up a copy of Fedora 1 (as well as Knoppix 3.4).

I might still see what Mandrake is like in the coming weeks. How would Fedora be better than Mandrake? I know my favorite computer store did recomend Red Hat to me last year as being the best Linux distro. Would this be because Red Hat is the market leader and it's good to be familiar with the market leader? I did read somewhere that Red Hat and Fedora would have the best compatiblilty with hardware or something like that.

As well one of my teachers uses Red Hat.

I'm currently studying part time (at night) to finish my Diploma in Information Technology and I'm currently doing a programming subject in "ANSI C". I'm using Cygwin in Windows 98SE, at home, but I don't like the way the window for the gcc compiler doesn't have scroll bars in Windows 98SE.

Thanks

pamount

Jman · #2 14th May 2004, 10:53 PM

This is a matter of opinion. I haven't tried Mandrake, so I can't comment on that. The Red Hat kudzu hardware probing tool does a pretty good job at recgonizing hardware.

The only way to tell which one is for is to try both.

Thread renamed and moved to Fedora Focus. Please be as specific as possible when starting threads.

David · #3 15th May 2004, 12:53 AM

Mandrake 9 installed really well and recognised everything except my pesky modem, which caused problems across the distros. When I came back to try linux again I literally went for the one that supported my modem

I seem to remember mdk being pretty similar to fed, all in all. It's kinda like comparing braeburn with cox. Mdk should be more newbie friendly since personal desktop mostly crossing over from win was its target. So stuff like ntfs is already supported. It required less configuring, that's for sure. But there's little to do in fedora that can't be sorted in an afternoon. If your prime concern is C programming, though then I don't suppose it matters too much which linux you go for, seeing as how it's written in C! =P

gonzalo76 · #4 15th May 2004, 05:23 AM

Why not both ? They are free !!!

I have Fedora, Slackware and Mandrake on the same disk.
This is the best way of analizing and testing what Linux distro is the best for you or your needs.

Greetings
gonzalo

foolish · #5 15th May 2004, 02:13 PM

The biggest difference between Fedora and Mandrake is that Fedora has GNOME as the default interface, and that's GNOME with bluecurve, which is a very professional look, and since most applications look the same, you'll get a very consistent desktop.

Mandrake uses KDE as its main desktop environment. KDE is different from gnome in a lot of ways, knoppix uses KDE.

STiAT · #6 15th May 2004, 02:47 PM

I prefer using xfce4 on fedora, but i'm aiming to get similar look at kde and gnome applications (at least menu styles) - not easy though...

I dont know why, but i never was happy with gnome, quite happy with kde, but since the kde 3.2 desktop was released it's just a pain in the ass to me. Therefore it was time for a change again.

KDE is much faster than gnome ever was, i think thats a problem of GTK to be slow ... yes, xfce isnt that fast itself as well, but i can handle it better than gnome.

Thats what i like - its always up to my opinion what i use in linux

. So i recommend you to find out what you like most.

//STi

Ug · #7 15th May 2004, 02:50 PM

Here at home, we've got a Mandrake Box which is the family's and my box which has Fedora Core 1.

Mandrake is much easier for those not familiar with computers, and I find it has a more consistant control panel system etc.

But I use Fedora Core, because it feels more professional and more innovative. Fedora Core is a Red Hat distribution with all their innovation and experience behind it. After all Red Hat brought you the rpm, the first proper integrated desktops with the Bluecurve theme and are working hard to incorproate innovations like SE Linux into Fedora.

Thats why I use Fedora, don't get me wrong i like Mandrake I really do - but its just not grown up enough for me.

micha · #8 15th May 2004, 04:21 PM

I've been a silver member of the MandrakeClub since the beginning. I switched to Fedora 6 months ago because I got tired of Mandrake.
Mandrake is pretty cool because you have a lot of multimedia stuff, proprietary drivers, etc. out of the box. But if you want to add new software, you have to be member of the Club or compile it yourself (as usual). But Mandrake differs from RedHat and sometimes it's difficult to compile some software. Also sometimes you got some problems with software/hardware and you can't figure out how to solve them.
I tried Fedora and I fell in love instantly. Everything works out of the box, and BlueCurve simply rocks. Also, I was a KDE guy, and now I use Gnome. I won't go back to KDE, because Gnome seems more user-friendly to me (in the sense that everything is better presented, and there are less options - in appearance).
I also found that the Fedora community is more reactive in terms of packages. You have a lot of repos and they follow the software updates. You also have some repos for Mandrake but sometimes some software are not updated as quickly as I expect.
As someone advised before, try both distributions and make your own opinion. But I really recommend you Fedora. The distribution and the community are great.

ilja · #9 15th May 2004, 04:24 PM

I heard there is a problem with MDK, for someone who doesn't know french. The best community is the French one.

micha · #10 15th May 2004, 04:38 PM

Actually no. If you browse the forums on the MandrakeClub, the most interesting threads are in English. Few threads are in French. I almost never posted in French in those forums. French may be arrogant, and may not like English language, but we know that if you want answers to your questions, you'd better write in English (except for problems that are related to French).
Also note that MandrakeClub Forums are available in Esperanto...

Ug · #11 15th May 2004, 05:29 PM

*laughs* You and your Esperanto!

micha · #12 15th May 2004, 06:37 PM

Drenon · #13 15th May 2004, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Why not both ? They are free !!!

I have Fedora, Slackware and Mandrake on the same disk.
This is the best way of analizing and testing what Linux distro is the best for you or your needs.

That'd be my advice aswell - it's straightforward to dual or multiboot a series of different distributions on one or more hard drives, and is a useful way of assessing which distros you like etc - if you want to try this and are not sure how to, then post back and we'll guide you through it

Ug · #14 15th May 2004, 08:33 PM

Mandrake 10 hasn't been released as ISOs to public servers yet.

And anyway when using Mandrake its ethical to join the MandrakeClub if you stick with it for any period.

micha · #15 15th May 2004, 09:41 PM

By the way, is it possible to do a donation for the Fedora project ?
I'm member of FSF and MandrakeClub. I give them money because I use their products every day, and they contribute to the freedom of my computer. So they need some rewards for that.