Linux Magazine DVD

In 1998, a group of young Linux users met in an Internet café to create a company that would come to be known as Mandrakesoft. The company followed the rise of Linux, growing from three employees to over a hundred in 2 years and, even when Linux was considered a tool for experts, establishing a reputation for simple, reliable systems that even a casual user could understand.

That ambitious company we used to know as Mandrakesoft has been through some big changes recently. Earlier this year, Mandrakesoft merged with Conectiva, another highly regarded Linux distribution, to form the new company they called Mandriva. And before the ink was even dry on that important merger, Mandriva was on the hunt again for still more technology. They soon purchased Lycoris, an up and coming desktop distro with many extras for the ordinary user.

Mandriva engineers started to work on merging the powerful Mandrake Linux, Conectiva, and Lycoris Linux distributions, and now at last they unveil the result of this formidable fusion. We are proud to bring you Free Mandriva Linux 2006 as this month's Linux Magazine DVD.

According to Mandriva, "2006 is the ultimate version of Mandriva Linux. It is the fruit of the convergence of three technologies: Mandriva, Conectiva, and Lycoris. Mandriva Linux 2006 is also more easy-to-use, more user-friendly, and more powerful. It is ideal for the needs of all customers, from the beginner to the SOHO user."

New Inside

New features bundled with Mandriva 2006 include a desktop search tool, a new package manager, an interactive firewall, and several improvements to the installation system. Mandriva 2006 also offers improved ergonomics, faster boot, better performance, and enhanced Wi-Fi and Centrino support.

Tools and Components

Mandriva Linux 2006 comes with Linux kernel 2.6.12 and X.org 6.9. You have the choice of the KDE 3.4 or Gnome 2.10 desktop. Other tools for the user include OpenOffice 1.1.5, the Kolab2 groupware application, and GCC 4.0.

Manage your accounts with the GnuCash financial account manager, and use GnomeMeeting for virtual conferences with friends and associates. Trap viruses with KlamAV. Produce great audio recordings with Sound Recorder, Rosegarden, and KaudioCreator. Lay out magazines and newsletters with Scribus 1.3.0, and play videos with Kaffeine. You can also manage your appointments, messages, and ToDo lists with Kontact Personal Information Manager 1.1.2.

Installation

Mandriva offers easy installation for everyday users. The Mandriva installer is still one of the best in the industry. The installer supports over 50 languages and automatically configures a wide range of hardware. The installation includes several advanced configuration options and a rescue mode for saving the system in case of failure. You can even configure RAID disks and resize NTFS partitions from within the installer.

Mandriva Control Center

Mandriva Linux 2006 comes with the Mandriva Linux Control Center - one of the best and most versatile configuration tools in all of Linux. The Control Center is a central spot for configuring your Mandriva Linux system. From a single user interface, you can manage software, configure hardware devices, set up network connections, configure services, add or remove users, manage mount points, configure personal firewall protection, and set system boot options.

Within the windows of the Control Center, you'll find dozens of simple and intuitive GUI-based tools for managing your system. Many of these tools come with wizards for easy input.

The Mount Points section of the Control Center provides several simple tools for configuring partitions, setting up NFS shares, and managing Samba. The Network and Internet section lets you configure and delete network interfaces, monitor network connections, set up wireless networking, and manage host definitions. Other windows within the Control Center offer other simple and effective solutions for your Mandriva configuration.

Try It!

Mandriva Linux 2006 marks a new beginning for one of the best and best-known Linux distributions. The handy Linux Magazine Free Mandriva Linux 2006 DVD provides the whole Free Mandriva Linux 2006 distribution on a convenient single disk. Now is your chance for a look at the future of Mandriva.

Figure 1: Mandriva 2006 comes with the KDE 3.4 desktop.

Figure 2: The Mandriva 2006 DVD includes an easy-to-use personal firewall.

Figure 3: The Kat search tool is new with the 2006 release.

Figure 4: Create your own newsletters with Scribus.

Figure 5: Organize mail, contacts, and ToDo lists with Kontact.

Figure 6: Manage your configuration with the Control Center.