"Marvin [GodfatherofSoul] Bellamy" wrote:
> 
> Say what you will about some of their configuration manipulations, but
> Mandrake is the only installation moving in the direction I'd like to
> see Linux going.  Other distros are either neglecting the newbie,
> getting too proprietary (Red Hat), or abandoning the virtues of Linux
> (Lindows).  At this rate, the Linux user base will expand enough for
> vendors to start porting more software.  The next year or two will be
> interesting.

Actually, Red Hat is getting _less_ proprietary as time goes on.  When
I got Red Hat 6.2, it had an entire CD of proprietary software, plus it
shipped with Netscape.  That entire CD of proprietary software is gone,
and they have shipped with Mozilla instead of Netscape (or are moving
in that direction).  I suspect that 8.0 will no longer include Star Office
either, but will have replaced it with Open Office.  I define proprietary
software as software that I either don't _have_ the source code, or that
I can't redistribute.  Red Hat seems to be headed in the direction of 
reducing the amount of software in that category as a goal.

I think you mean that they aren't _targeting_ the newbie, and that may
very well be true.  I, however, have no problem with that, as if all
the distributions targeted newbies, I would have no distribution targeted
towards me.

Hal