RedHat Linux 6
By: Editor

We take a look at the RedHat release of the Linux OS version 2.2.

On first look, the book & CD bundle is fairly impressive, with a good
host of applications. But on a closer look we found a few things we
didn't like.

First of all we found the documentation still fairly vague and only
helpful to those with a good foundation in computers.

This is definitely not a OS for anyone new to computers, or has
never installed their own devices.

Our installation was flawed several times by a poorly documented
bug in the Linux kernel (the heart & soul of the OS).

We found our harddrive a Quantum 4GB to work poorly unless
we changed our BIOS so that it is set to LARGE mode, and then
in the middle of installation to check the LINEAR MODE option.

Which is hard to find in the manual and especially confusing when the
menu only mentions having trouble with SCSI hard drives.

After we made the necessary settings we were able to run a stable
windowed OS.

The Installation
We still found the installation process tedious and grew tired of weeding
out the packages we didn't want. We believe this process could still
be made 10 times more simpler- and will have to be, in order for greater
appeal to a broader audience.

Another downside is; one of the major apps we were looking forward
to running - WE COULDN'T. That is Star Office, which includes
version 5.

The problem is - the version included requires a registration to be made
online, but the problem is more complicated when you factor in SUN
recently purchased Star Division and no longer offers the registration.

We found out that we needed to download the entire office package
of some 70 odd Megabytes, which was none to thrilling to discover.

We realize that RedHat could not have known that one of their applications would end up being bought out, but perhaps should be more strict in the future on including applications that require third party support which may not be available after their release is published!

In Conclusion
We don't recommend this version of Linux for beginners, we do find this
version to be well supported, even with the trouble we ran into, and would recommend it to anyone who has some UNIX experience.

So don't shell out the $50 for the books, if you have a cable modem or DSL, download the entire RedHat release, and then find a better book
at your local bookstore on Linux.

If you are really anxious to jump on the Linux bandwagon, and are looking for a better solution, you may have better luck with calderas
Open Linux. www.caldera.com

[Home | Forum | Tutorials | How To | Archive |  Tips 'N Tricks | Decoder | Bookstore | Reader Survey]
[FAQs | Weekly Tip | Search | About WebNovice | Contact Us | Writer's Info | Advertiser's Info]

This Website and its contents are copyright © 1997, 1998 and 1999
NetData, Inc. and Webscape Communications, Crystal River, FL, USA
WebNovice Privacy Statement