The new wave of Linux distribution’s is finally here. The latest versions of Ubuntu, Fedora, OpenSUSE and more are already released, and Mandriva completes the list with it’s latest offering, version 2010, which was also recently released. How does it compare? Nothing short of amazing, yet again.
My history with Mandriva has always been a mixed one. Back in the later days of Redhat’s free desktop releases, and even the early days of Fedora, Mandriva (then Mandrake) was always a mixed bag. Lately however, Mandriva has been putting their best foot forward consistently, and Mandriva 2010.0 is no exception to that rule.
First of all, I downloaded the KDE version of their “One” LiveCD. My test machine only has 2GB of RAM, so I decided to stick with the 32-bit version, although I normally use 64-bit whenever possible. My test machine also has a 250GB SATA hard drive, an older Nvidia video card, an Athlon 64 (single core) processor and a standard DVD-drive. Nothing amazing, but it works.
When it comes to installation, I used to think that the Ubuntu/Kubuntu installer was the best, but Mandriva has managed to get ahead of the game. For starters, it took less clicks (around 3) and less time (less than ten minutes) to install. In addition, it even offered to remove packages that wouldn’t benefit my system, which I think is an amazing idea, and I’m surprised it hasn’t been thought of until now. The installer doesn’t look quite as awesome as the one in Kubuntu 9.10, but overall I think it’s better.
Upon booting the system, I was amazed by not only how fast it was, but also how polished it was. Everything is custom right from the Grub boot menu. Even the graphical boot and login screens are themed with beautiful artwork and the desktop has a completely custom Mandriva theme as well. The desktop itself is designed with a more retro feel, with double-click being standard to open items, a full desktop rather than a folder view widget, and a classic KDE menu rather than the new Kickoff style.
Mandriva 2010 also sports a great selection of packages. I like how both Konqueror and Firefox are included, so those of you that don’t feel Konqueror can compare to Firefox (like me) will feel right at home. All of the usual KDE applications (such as Dolphin, Kmail, Kopete and others) are included, and even GIMP finds itself in this release. Including the best of the KDE/Qt applications as well as a few popular GTK applications is a nice touch, unlike Kubuntu which refuses to include any GTK applications whatsoever, despite any benefit they may add. In my opinion, having an all KDE desktop is impossible right now, and I’m glad Mandriva has realized this.
KDE 4.3.2 makes its way into Mandriva 2010, and all benefits included with KDE 4.3.x are naturally a part of this release. KDE 4.3.x debuted the new “Air” theme, though it’s not selected by default in the newest Mandriva. Instead, a custom Mandriva theme is used throughout the desktop, and manages to prove that you don’t need to stick with KDE’s default theme to have a beautiful desktop, it’s definitely possible to create a beautiful custom KDE artwork and Mandriva has managed to pull it off. The Air theme is there for those that want it, however.
As far as performance goes, Mandriva 2010 is not the fastest distribution I’ve ever used, but it’s nowhere near the slowest and it’s very responsive even on my older hardware. It boots VERY fast, and managed to recognize all of my hardware. Even my Nvidia video card was recognized and configured for 3D acceleration, so thankfully I didn’t have to install it manually.
Conclusion
Normally I like to provide the good and the bad about every operating system I review, however I cannot find anything to complain about in Mandriva 2010. Although I’ve only had a chance to test Kubuntu 9.10 and Mandriva 2010 when it comes to the new wave of Linux distro’s, it’s obvious to me already that this release is nothing short of amazing, and is everything Kubuntu 9.10 should have been. Mandriva has set the standard that other KDE-based distributions should follow yet again.
Note: In addition, the GNOME version isn’t half bad either, although I haven’t had as much time to spend with it.
The Good
- Everything
The Bad
- Nothing
Overall: 5/5 (Fantastic)
Jeremy is a Certified IT Technician that blogs at ITNewsToday.com in his spare time. He has over ten years of industry experience, and studies the IT industry every single day. Jeremy has become an open source enthusiast over time and is studying for his Linux+ certification. He lives in Waterford MI with his wife Krystal and son Alan.
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I hope to god that an Athlon 64 with 2GB of RAM and an “older” nVidia card is responsive. If not, you have to wonder what developers are doing with their code that causes an ~2GHz processor with 2GB of RAM and a (at least) 64MB video card to be slow…
I didn’t mention it but my Athlon 64 is horrible for most things. It’s not a dual core, and the one core it does have is hard to work with most of the time. I am going to be upgrading it soon.