> That's OK -- a giant penguin will not kick your door down in the
> middle of the night. It's a helluva deal. But there some very good
> reasons for buying one of the store sets.
I agree that all the included software is a good deal - much easier
than downloading one by one.
My only dissapointment, after paying for the Power Pack at CompUSA
and registering, is that support has not been able to help me with
any of the many problems I've had with Mandrake 8.0.
As I've explained in the post you responded to I've gotten no
valuable answers at Mandrake Expert to any of my posts.
Phone support has not helped me either - see the details below.
I did't say all that just to gripe, and while I am being critical, I
don't think it's in an unfair way.
I wouldn't want someone to think that by paying extra for the tech
support, any difficulties they have will be remedied quickly over the
phone or Web. That's not the case. It may be the case for some
problems, but not necessarily yours, and definately not mine!
I'm not really even that disappointed that Mandrake barely works on
my machine - that's just bad luck. But when I call tech support, and
they tell me, while I'm on long distance from Hawaii, that they have
to back out of DOS and reboot, then I'm disappointed. What are they
doing on DOS? And if they aren't ready to assist, why do they answer
the phone?
If they work for the makers of the best free software in the world
why cant any of them receive email so I could email them my system
information rather than spell it out over long distance? For that
matter, why couldn't they just access their own damn Mandrake Expert
web page where I took the time to fill it in when I registered?
So many LInux users bitch about Microsoft because they release
products before they are ready. If Mandrake can't run a decent tech
support service, they shouldn't run one at all, shouldn't charge for
it, and they shouldn't advertise it. But they explained more than
once to me that they weren't set up completely yet, however the
retail version has been on the shelves how long?
I'm probably burning bridges on this list, but I'm just being
objective.
I'm out $80 unless I buy a computer that Mandrake will run on. It
sure as hell doesn't work on this one. No one, whether it's on this
list, the local lug, the newsgroup, or the support I've paid for can
help me.
That's not to say anything bad about anyone on the list or the
newsgroup - this is a voluntary list and my problem is obviously very
difficult, otherwise I'm sure it would be solved by now. And it's
not to say anything about Mandrake as a distribution - it came highly
recommended and I'm sure most users are pleased with it. I would be
too if it worked.
I guess I'm just saying to anyone considering buying it - try it free
or cheap first - and if you like it, or any other
software/distribution for that matter, donate generously.
I'm pretty frustrated because I've run out of options, so sorry if I
pissed anyone off.
Eric
On Sunday 03 June 2001 17:12, Carroll Grigsby wrote:
> Eric/Jose:
> Yes, the ebay CD's are copies that originated at the Mandrake site.
> That's OK -- a giant penguin will not kick your door down in the
> middle of the night. It's a helluva deal. But there some very good
> reasons for buying one of the store sets. First, you get a bunch of
> extra applications that are not on the 2 CD set. If you're stuck
> with a plain old 56K (or less modem), it's going to take a long,
> long, long time to download those apps. Second, you get the source.
> Third, Mandrake puts a lot of time and effort into building these
> distributions, supporting their web site, etc. It is not a
> volunteer operation -- they have a sizable payroll. That ain't
> cheap. Buying one of the packages is one way of helping to support
> this effort. (You can also make a direct donation -- see the
> Mandrake site for details.)
> -- Carroll
>
> Eric Lauritzen wrote:
> > Question for the list: Are the disks on ebay copies of
> > downloaded CDs do you suppose? Can you sell copies of a
> > distribution that you get for free? I know you can build your
> > own distro if you know how, but is it legal to sell copies of a
> > distro?
> >
> > As for the question of buying the powerpack for $80 I wouldn't
> > let the support be a factor. I've had multiple problems and the
> > phone support hasn't been able to offer me anything that helped.
> > The last time I called the guy tells me he's in a Microsoft OS
> > and has to reboot before he can help me - this on my long
> > distance from hawaii time. After he couldn't help me he told me
> > he'd call back - never did that I know of. They can't receive
> > email, and they can't access their own "web support" so when you
> > enter all your infor there when you register, you'll just have to
> > provide it again when you call.
> >
> > The web support is no better than this list - in fact this list
> > is probably far better. On the web support page "Mandrake
> > Expert" you are limited to 2000 characters so you'll never be
> > able to describe your problem or system in any detail so all the
> > replys were requests for more information or suggestions to try
> > something I had already tried.
> >
> > The two manuals, which do indeed have good info in them, are
> > available free of charge in html or pdf format from the web site.
> >
> > Where I think the $80 is worth it is all the extra software you
> > get - most of which can just go on your computer during
> > installation so you avoid what I think is a major pain in the
> > O'kole downloading and figuring out how to install.
> >
> > In my case, with all the problems I'm having - problems no one
> > seems to have any answer for - I wish I would have spent my $80
> > on another distro. It just doesn't seem to work well on my
> > particular (pun) computer. But now that I have bought it I'm
> > determined to get the thing working whatever it takes - and I'm
> > learning a lot in the process.
> >
> > I hope my gripes and kudos will be useful in helping you decide
> > whether the boxed set is for you or not.
> >
> > Eric
> >
> > On Sunday 03 June 2001 12:42, you wrote:
> > > Yes, there is. The ones you buy have a wealth of applications
> > > to include some commercial demos. They also offer 60 days
> > > installation support and two excellent books.
> > >
> > > On Sunday 03 June 2001 18:02, Randal Luffman wrote:
> > > > I'm not even a newbie yet, but thinking about trying Linux.
> > > > Mandrake, I understand it the easiest to install and use. I
> > > > have found the disks on Ebay very cheap. Is there any
> > > > difference in the disks on Ebay for a few $$ vs. the ones
> > > > from Mandrake for $69?
> > >
> > > ----------------------------------------
> > > Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1";
> > > name="Attachment: 1" Content-Transfer-Encoding:
> > > quoted-printable
> > > Content-Description:
> > > ----------------------------------------
