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According to what I understand, Warly is reporting that Mandrake Linux 9.1 will be finalized no later than March 14. In my opinion, this could very well be a death sentence for MandrakeSoft.
Quite frankly, Mandrake 9.1 has a LOT of showstopper/serious bugs still. One long time Linux user I know who I sold on Mandrake 8.2, but couldn't get 9.0 to install on several machines, has already posted on another list that he is resigning himself to not upgrading to 9.1, because of all the problems he had with RC1. He quite resonably realized that nine days just isn't enough to fix problems like his.
For instance, since he has an integrated AC97 sound card, Mandrake won't let his SB Live! work properly that has worked in every other GNU/Linux distro he has tried (including 8.2).
My own bug list includes:
- Bug #2268: Every wheel mouse I try is not detected properly. This includes an IntelliMouse and a Logitech MX 700 (both using PS/2).
- Bug #1965: An ultra confusing quirk makes Autologin default during setup, but it doesn't use the autologin method that is built into mdkkdm. Thus, users who choose autologin don't have signout options (such as "Shutdown") when logging out of KDE like they would expect they should. If the proper method was used (using mdkkdm/kdm's autologin feature), this would not be an issue, but as it is, it leaves one of many users favorite features disabled if you autologin.
- Bug #2107: Kio_smb/Kio_lan doesn not work, leaving Mandrake/KDE lagging behind Lycoris and Lindows for absolutely no reason. This functionality normally works... so it seems like something that should be investigated.
- Bug #2375: There is no removable media links on KDE desktops. This is a feature that has been standard since KDE 1.x days, and everyone expects. Now you have to manually go to /mnt/whatever just to get to your cd-rom. Why was this (very simple) feature removed?
- Bug #2383: The PSC 2210 supports usb-storage for accessing the memory card, and using usb-storage makes transferring photos a snap. But Mandrake doesn't load usb-storage by default, and even if you load it, then you need to create a mount point and add the info to fstab. Wasn't all of that suppose to be dynamic as of 9.0?
- Bug #2722: Galaxy-KDE makes KDE look really bad in a number of spots. It breaks Konqueror's ability to use forms. It has trouble with color schemes. Konqueror and many other apps also suffer from really attrocious looking drop down boxes. This absolutely must be fixed if Mandrake wants its KDE desktop not to be attacked like Red Hat's has been since last fall. This is the kind of stuff that generates bad press.
- Bug #2793: This bug makes it so that if you accidentally type in an incorrect IP address in Scannerdrake's scanner sharing utility, that you can no longer get into scannerdrake. It just hangs waiting for a response from a non-existant IP address.
- Bug #1859: For some unexplainable reason MandrakeSoft is not providing users with KDE screensavers beyond its basic one. Why? Why didn't anyone ask Club users? (most probably didn't vote for KDE-Artwork since you weren't suppose to need to vote for basic packages, and it seems pretty basic!)
Now, this is what I ask. Mandrake, as I understand it, still has major financial problems (I think that goes without saying since it is still in bankruptcy protection). It may be that things should go better this year, but if Mandrake 9.1 comes out with all kinds of annoying and/or showstopper problems (like an SB Live! card being impossible to install), then it probably won't get good reviews or sell well. I would think a bad sales period for a distribution release right now could make creditors a lot less favorable about Mandrake's situation.
Is it worth risking Mandrake's future as a whole to get this distribution out by mid-March? I just don't personally see that as a realistic date when I'm using RC2. Mandrake developers are amazing people, but I still can't believe all of these problems can be fixed in just nine days. To me, RC2 seems more like a beta release and not a release candidate.
Just my $0.02...
-Tim
Hiya Tim and all,
[Rant on]
Whilst I am confident that the Mandrake developers can get this version pretty polished by the current release date, I do think that Tim has an important point with regards to calling these things "release candidates". Clearly the current .iso's aren't release candidates, they are betas. Calling them release candidates seems to be a convenient way of getting more people to try out the distro and thus report bugs. The logic is sound (people avoid the betas, and flock to the rc's), but the message is very flawed. Reviewers report on release candidates. People get pissed off when they download almost 2 gigs of distro they can't use.
I would like to propose two alternative approaches for future releases:
1. Tweak the beta program
Keep the beta program running until there are basically no bug reports, then shift to rcs, where only tweaks can be made (graphics, rcX -> release package updates, etc.). When the release candidate comes out, people should be able to test it on production machines (in the case of workstations), and on sandboxed servers. Why? Because they are /release candidates/ and not betas.
***REWARD*** beta bug busters and reporters. I have no idea why this isn't already happening. Simply provide suitable rewards for those who thrash the betas and report the bugs. This will have two effects:- it will encourage lots of people to be active beta testers, instead of benignly let others report and fix all the bugs, or bitching about problems with the so-called release candidates; and it will allow the developers to more effectively stipulate how bug reports should be filed. You do the bug report in this way, and you get such and such points when it's confirmed. Or you get such and such points for fixing some bug. MandrakeClub membership is the obvious reward for those not already members, and hey, wouldn't MandrakeSoft like more *active* people in the club? Lot's of other rewards could be earned - magazine subscriptions, hardware, etc. If it all goes towards making Mandrake the best distro out there, with the biggest user base and lots of paying customers looking for stability and overall 'slickness', what does it matter?
2. What the hell is a distro anyhow?
Why is it that companies like MandrakeSoft, RedHat, etc., are putting all this effort into syncronising the release of 3000 or so software packages at once?(????!) Why not split the distro? Make a bunch of mini-distros which can be managed separately (Down to per-package level if desired)? One could be for the installer framework, one could be base libraries, one could be for the development stuff, one for servers, etc., etc. (ooh, I'm feeling nostalgic for my old Slackware days!). Have a management system which keeps the components for up to date over the 'net according to each user's preference. One that can configure and burn a custom set of iso's, ready to install like a regular distro (great for OEMS, or people maintaining different machines). Tell the system to prepare Joe-user's desktop distro and you get one CD, tell the system you want Mel's-multimedia-mayhem and out pops another. Even add processor-specific compiles to the mix! Each section would have it's own users working towards optimum stability, features and performance.
Wouldn't taking things in this kind of direction make more sense than trying to squeeze everything everybody wants working perfectly on three CDs? How many languages does any one person want to install on their computer? Why do they have to download every other language people want supported? Why do they have to download hundreds of megabytes of stuff they'll never need just so they can set up their web server?
Surely something's got to change. Creating megalithic multi-CD distros is archaic and is going to get harder and harder. Lindows (Click'n'run), Ximian (RedCarpet), and others have worked it out, so why can't we? And *we* can do it with strong community participation!
[Rant off]
Cheers all.
Paul. (Loving the installer improvements)
