Re: [tlug] RE: getting back on track [ was RE: introductions ]

[Jonathan Byrne <jq@example.com>]

On Wednesday 14 January 2004 05:57 pm, Alfred Rodriguez wrote:

> when i was searching the net for the various distributions available,
> TurboLinux is most widely-used in Japan and China... it couldn't be
> dying, could it?

Was the most widely used would be a better description.  Red Hat came to Japan 
and ate TL's lunch.  I was there to see it happen.

> as for Mandrake - it seems like a pretty good system, with all the
> reviews ive been reading on the net. or maybe it is more of a desktop
> system, then?

I have a long list of reasons why I dislike Mandrake, starting with their 
sordid history with CUPS.  Remember the LG CD-ROM destruct debacle?  The 
majority of the blame rightly falls on LG, but on the other hand, Mandrake 
was AFAIK the only distro bitten by this, and it came about through using a 
bleeding edge kernel patch.  Obviously not tested enough.

Mandrake, kind of like Lindows, aims to keep dumb users dumb, too.  I've met 
some really sharp people who use Mandrake, but mostly, their target market is 
newbies, which is why I cannot tolerate how they pump out unstable crap.  
Debian Unstable is worlds more reliable than Mandrake production releases, 
and there is something very wrong with that picture.

Jonathan