Ubuntu 7.10 or Mandriva 2008?

[mustking]

I am using Windows OS for more then 2 years now and like most windows users i musti say windows is the worst OS ever released. Always crashes, worm, and a bunch of bugs is the luck of windows. :(

I am a business man and cannot stop my work every day to fix the windows crashes. :mad:

Then, i start my search for a stable OS and found Ubuntu & Mandriva 2008 as a popular OS with a stable linux kernal.

Now, i want to know who is better Mandriva 2008 or Ubuntu 7.10 and why?

I tried Mandriva Live CD and it detect all my drivers but on the otherside i found the mandriva community very, very slow in respond to your questions.

Please help me decide....
Thank you.

[Dr Small]

The choice is really your's, but have you tried Gutsy from a livecd yet, to see if it will recognize all of your hardware ?
If you have not downloaded it yet, you can download it via bit torrent from here:
http://releases.ubuntu.com/7.10/

Then you can switch between the two livecd's and see which one you like better, or install them both :D

Dr Small

[buzzmandt]

You should try many live cd's to find what you think is better for you.

I recomend trying pclinuxos (http://www.pclinuxos.com) and ubuntu.

[mustking]

The choice is really your's, but have you tried Gutsy from a livecd yet, to see if it will recognize all of your hardware ?
If you have not downloaded it yet, you can download it via bit torrent from here:
http://releases.ubuntu.com/7.10/

Then you can switch between the two livecd's and see which one you like better, or install them both :D

Dr Small

I myself prefer a distro that have more applications...

[tom-ubuntu]

Guess what the Poll result will be within a Ubuntu forum? :lolflag:

[frup]

Ubuntu currently has over 23000 packages in the repositories, many of these would be useless to you, which kind of applications do you need? Most major applications will be on any Linux distribution, version depends on how current it is, I don't think you can get much more current than Ubuntu 7.10 now. Mandriva in many ways is a dying distro in my opinion.

[Ultra Magnus]

I myself prefer a distro that have more applications...

Ubuntu has thousands of applications available just by clicking add/remove - Most mainstream distros will probably offer a similar set of applications as well and they should come preinstalled with almost everything you need (web browser, email, office stuff etc)

Do you use Open Source programs on windows?

[mustking]

Ubuntu currently has over 23000 packages in the repositories, many of these would be useless to you, which kind of applications do you need? Most major applications will be on any Linux distribution, version depends on how current it is, I don't think you can get much more current than Ubuntu 7.10 now. Mandriva in many ways is a dying distro in my opinion.

I want applications such as messenger, browser, ftp client, e.t.c

[Ultra Magnus]

Ubuntu comes with these preinstalled

Browser: Firefox
Messenger: Pidgin (stupid name I know but it connects to most networks)
ftp client: you can get filezilla from the repositories (add and remove)

also

Office stuff: Open Office
Picture Editing: Gimp (again stupid name but worth looking at)

[nhydra]

Mandriva is suitable for novice users. This is very very easy to use distro. You definitely have to try it.

[frup]

I want applications such as messenger, browser, ftp client, e.t.c

Messenger is Pidgin, it supports many protocols such as MSN, Jabber/Google Talk, Yahoo, ICQ, AIM, IRC etc. etc.
Browser... Firefox! also Opera and Konqueror for KDE. etc.
FTP, Firefox extensions or GFTP etc.

[AdamWill]

Mandriva has a little over 16,000 binary packages. However, counting binary packages is not the best way to do things, as distros split source packages into binary packages in different ways, so two distros may have the same amount of actual applications and libraries but a rather significantly different number of binary packages. It's best to compare source packages, of which Mandriva has around 9,000 - I don't know about Ubuntu.

Even this isn't terribly useful though, as the important question is how many of those packages are expertly and actively maintained (this is more or less the *job* of a distributor, after all). And you can't answer that question with numbers. =)

As everyone else has said - download both live / install CDs, try 'em out, and install the one you like best. Or both.

[lyceum]

I have tested both, and for me, Ubuntu all the way. Mandriva has some $$ problems in the past, and seems to look at the market rather than the users (IMO). Ubuntu is free ($$) and is a good mix or FOSS and propriatary. But really it is the cominity that I love most about Ubuntu. The forums rock :guitar:

[mustking]

And is there any big difference in Ubuntu and Kubuntu except the KDE in Kubuntu. I am referring to the drivers compability difference or both are same in hardware support? :)

[Jolly-Swagman]

I have tested both, and for me, Ubuntu all the way. Mandriva has some $$ problems in the past, and seems to look at the market rather than the users (IMO). Ubuntu is free ($$) and is a good mix or FOSS and propriatary. But really it is the cominity that I love most about Ubuntu. The forums rock :guitar:

Yes I agree, also have tested Madriva 2008 and funny enough it actually ran fine on an old P3 system had laying around than it did on my P4.

But must say I do love Ubuntu the best out of all the distro's I have tested


Jolly Swagman

[bruce89]

And is there any big difference in Ubuntu and Kubuntu except the KDE in Kubuntu. I am referring to the drivers compability difference or both are same in hardware support? :)

No other difference, they are the same distro but with different desktop packages installed.

[Extreme Coder]

Have you tried both?

Most distros, including Ubuntu and Mandriva will satisfy your software needs you listed.


Mandriva has some $$ problems in the past, and seems to look at the market rather than the users (IMO).

Not anymore. Mandriva has canceled the Club, and the community is free to join by anybody.
The only thing that still costs money is the Powerpack itself, and its subscription.

BTW do you have any types of hardware you will be connecting to your PC? Like camera,mem card reader,etc..

[thespankguy]

i'm in a similar boat. i installed 7.1 a few days ago and am still getting used to it. i'm from a strictly windows background and consider myself a very avid user. i can't quite grasp how to install basic programs with ubuntu. with windows you download the setup.exe (or whatever) file, double click, installation complete (give or take a few clicks to "yes" and "i accept"). with ubuntu i tried to install adobe reader and still can't quite get it to work because i don't know what i'm doing. i also can't get embedded .wmv files to play in firefox because i don't know how to install the plugins.

i've read that mandriva is far more user-friendly for a former windows user. PCLinuxOS seems like an alternative as well but i've read negative reviews.

i'm done with windows and the myriad of viruses that i constantly get, but i don't know if ubuntu is the answer for me

[Dual Cortex]

My choices: OpenSUSE -> Ubuntu/PCLOS

[thespankguy]

i just realized that i somewhat fit the description of a "well-intentioned troll" and will cease doing anything that conforms to that model. my apologies