As was explained earlier in this thread, plenty of people have 9.2 now, because it is being included with various linux magazines. I don't know about the Spanish one, but the Linux Format DVD looks pretty official to me - there is a full-page advert for MandrakeClub in the same issue, so I assume Mandrake knew about its inclusion.
What is happening is that magazines like Linux Format, who have a pretty positive impression of Mandrake's user-friendliness, have included 9.2 (original, without updates, due to publishing timescales, presumably) and encouraged people to give it a go. Many of these are inexperienced linux users, and are running up against the usual problems - most commonly patchy support for video hardware. Mandrake and Radeon has been a bad combination since at least the Radeon 7500. And it's a copout to say it's because of ATI's attitude to Open Source drivers (not that I expect you will) because other distros handle this aspect better than Mandrake. And, as has been discussed in other threads, what really needs to happen if new users are not to be put off, is that X configuration falls back to a basic default (VGA or Vesa @640 x 480, say) or the console interface to XFdrake, rather than simply fails and dumps the user at a console.
You could see this for yourself if you check out the Linux Format Help forum, but as a taster, here's a quote from a thread titled 'Install Mandrake 9.2 with ATI Radeon 9600 card?':
" Well listen guys, I've given up. After struggling through to a root prompt, then downloading the drivers from ATI, I tried following the install instructions.
Now believe me, this is no exaggeration: There are 664 lines of instructions on how to install the drivers. 664 lines! And they aren't the easiest of instructions to follow either, here's a small random snippet:
"Since the rpm program does check any sort of dependencies to system
libraries you might observe that you are requested to install certain
revisions (or compatible versions) of other packages in order to install
the driver package. Advanced administrators can decide to override
specific dependencies by the "--nodeps" switch as described in the RPM
manual pages, but in general those dependencies should be fullfilled".
Sweet mother mary. I know you'll all flame me for saying this (the Linux community isn't known for being very subjective ) but Microsoft has nothing to worry about!
Say what you like, but this is archiac stuff. Sorry folks, this won't cut it. Windows is years ahead. "
And this guy isn't the only one feeling this way. So you can say that all bar one bug has been fixed by now, if you like, but that doesn't make any difference to the fact that 9.2 in its unadulterated state got into the open with far too many faults. It's no consolation to newbies that many of the bugs are fixed, because they are dumped at a console with no idea how to install these fixes. If people get bitten by the LG issue, that will only add insult to injury. And whether or not LG replace the drives (is that confirmed?), you can bet that Mandrake will get a reputation (deserved or not) for breaking hardware.
It seems to be a fond idea of some contributors that fixing a raft of problems in short time after release gets round the fact that the problems were there. No one takes that attitude with bugs in Windows or hardware faults. And they won't take that attitude with Mandrake, and by extension (as you can see from the above quote) linux. This is what I am worried about. It doesn't matter whether the people who make these comments should have known better - they didn't. And that damages the perception of linux as a whole.
Anyway, this issue has been done to death in other threads, and I won't extend the pain by carrying on the argument beyond this post. I just wanted people to see that the faults in the initial 9.2 release were causing real-life damage amongst less sophisticated linux users than Cooker subscribers. And that this damage hurts more than Mandrake - it hurts linux.
Cheers,
Bruno
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > If you are talking about only the LG issue, I think your point is moot.
1)LG will replace or repair the devices 2)An exploit of this is possible on Windows, and I am sure we will see one soon, and then I guess people will say "Windows isn't ready for the desktop"?
If you have any *real* reasons why your claim that 9.2 was not in a fit state to be released, please give me your bug numbers.
AFAIK, the only major as-yet unfixed problem on 9.2 is the disappearing menus issue.
And any people who are running 9.2 now are either: -Club members (and there has been enough coverage on fixing and working arounf the issues -installing from FTP (these aren't newbies then) -getting the ISOs via some other means, and can't really complain until official ISOs are out (which will address the LG issue).
