MandrakeSoft shines Linux desktop (ZDNet) [LWN.net]

ZDNet reviews Mandrake Linux version 9.0. "Some of the most significant tweaks to Mandrake Linux 9.0 are improvements to the desktop experience. MandrakeSoft has customized all of the various graphical user environments to have a consistent look and feel, a concept it calls "more homogeneity, less futility". This means, for example, that no matter what environment users are in, they have a similar set of menus for finding and running applications."

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Don't beat on Red Hat. See, Mandrake has to do the same thing.

Posted Sep 27, 2002 14:20 UTC (Fri) by dwheeler (guest, #1216) [Link]

A few folks have complained that Red Hat has tweaked KDE and GNOME so that they have a more consistent feel. Some even suggested "switching to Mandrake." But note that Mandrake is doing the same thing. Users don't want two different desktops that work differently, and applications that vary depending on what libraries they use. They want a system that works consistently, including EVERY application. I think Mandrake and Red Hat are doing the right thing. Indeed, I think it's the ONLY reasonable way to proceed for an organization deploying open source desktop environments.

I hope that Mandrake, Red Hat, GNOME, KDE, and all the other players work things out so that there is more _global_ consistency. It WOULD be possible. But at the very least, consistency on a single platform is a big step forward. Indeed, different versions of Windows or MacOS often change the look-and-feel, and users are still willing to pay for them. But users REALLY GRIPE if the look-and-feel is inconsistent on that particular version.

These actions by MandrakeSoft and Red Hat aren't the end of the universe. They're signs that GNU/Linux (and *BSD) is growing up.

Don't beat on Red Hat. See, Mandrake has to do the same thing.

Posted Sep 27, 2002 14:58 UTC (Fri) by proski (subscriber, #104) [Link]

I haven't tried Mandrake 9.0, and I would like to hear from somebody who did. It sound like the "reviewer" actually reviewed the Mandrake's press-release, not the system itself. I don't see any point in publishing such "reviews" on LWN.

Did you try Mandrake 9.0? Did they remove the "About KDE" menu? I think that's the biggest issue with Red Hat, and I hope that Mandrake did it right.

Removing "About KDE" is not giving credit where it's due. If not the KDE project, KDE software would not be written. Red Hat should not obscure the fact that programs such as Konqueror were written by KDE enthusiasts.

Don't beat on Red Hat. See, Mandrake has to do the same thing.

Posted Sep 29, 2002 2:44 UTC (Sun) by proski (subscriber, #104) [Link]

I installed Mandrake 9.0 today, and I can say that you don't know what you are talking about. Mandrake is not doing "the same thing". Mandrake only unified the menus in window managers used to launch applications, and this unification goes far beyond KDE and GNOME. All window managers, even TWM, have the same menus (I mean the text, not the style). Actually, Window Maker is an exception, but it must be a bug that will be fixed.

The menus in the applications, as well as the menus in window managers not related to launching external software, are not affected. "About KDE" is still there. KDE looks like KDE, and GNOME looks like GNOME.

If you are basing your conclusions on statements that you didn't have an opportunity to check, then please make it clear, like I did in my first reply. You can also visit some other site, where it's normal to do exactly the opposite.