Andrewski Posted June 17, 2003 Report Share Posted June 17, 2003 I'm currently making the switch (well, dual boot) from WinXP. One thing that has attracted me about Linux is that it's all free and open-source. I'm nearly decided on Mandrake, for numerous reasons, most of which you all probably already know. :) Anyway, I see that the Mandrake Power Pack costs US$70. I'm not big on paying for something, especially when it's free, so I have a few questions: Is the software in the Power Pack available for free to download, even if independently? If I download the free version, is there a way I can "update"? Is the license on the Power Pack open, as in if I bought it, would I be able to freely distribute it (or, more appropriately, could I get it from someone who had it)? Thanks in advance, and if there's anything I need to know about dual booting with XP, I'd appreciate your thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Scrimpshire Posted June 17, 2003 Report Share Posted June 17, 2003 I know with 8.1, resizing an NTFS partition trashes all your data. I'm not sure if 9.1 fixes this problem. I know that there is pending kernel support for this. As far as the license thing goes for the Power Pack, I'm not sure. The big thing about the Power Pack from what I understand is that it contains much more third party software, which may or may not be open source. I'm pretty sure there is nothing stopping you from getting the Power Pack from your friends or vice versa, but Mandrake needs the monetary support right now or they are going to go under. I believe they get more money from you joining the Mandrake Club before downloading rather than purchasing their disks at the store, but I'm not sure. Did any of that rambling help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bvc Posted June 17, 2003 Report Share Posted June 17, 2003 Welcome! 1. Yes, it's all available and all free....to you that is....cost time and money for the company, developers, and bug contributors. 2. Mandrake Update (included) in (mcc) the Mandrake Control Center gets and installs the updates. 3. Don't know 4. Don't know/don't think there are any issues other than some NFS, but not sure of the details....I run Win98. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoulSe Posted June 17, 2003 Report Share Posted June 17, 2003 Linux is not 'free' - it is open. It might be free for you to download, but it is costing the developers big money to develop and maintain their distribution. Now I understand that not everybody can afford $70 for a powerpack and that is fine, but please consider purchasing a set of cds or a standard box release from Mandrake (very cheap). No one has anything against you using it for free, but if you can afford to pay for something, even if it is just a small amount, please do. Without monetary support, we might not have distros like Mandrake in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gowator Posted June 17, 2003 Report Share Posted June 17, 2003 Here here soulsee Exactly. In 9.0 you gotthe full commercial StarOffice vs OO only in the free download. The Powerpack was cheaper than the retial proce of StarOffice... so good deal. For home use if you have broadband you won't really miss out much initially on much. You can get practically everything from the web for free. Supporting Mandrake is important. If your biting the bit: Download the Download edition Try it If you like it Order the powerpack or basic edition whatever you can afford. You'll get some groovy stickers if nothing else and a backup set of media. Mandrake are reportedly a bit slow on shipping at the moment but give em a break. When you look at what you get, even in the stanard pack its less than asingle M$ application and you get hundreds or perhaps thousands. As far as the license thing goes for the Power Pack, I'm not sure. The big thing about the Power Pack from what I understand is that it contains much more third party software, which may or may not be open source. Hence the individual package licences are what limits you giving it away, copying for a friend. Each commercial package might have different restrictions and its up to you to read them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrewski Posted June 17, 2003 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2003 Supporting Mandrake is important. If your biting the bit: Download the Download edition Try it If you like it Order the powerpack or basic edition whatever you can afford. You'll get some groovy stickers if nothing else and a backup set of media. I like that idea. Yeah, I'm not even sure that I'll like Mandrake and dropping $70 on something I won't like doesn't count as fun in my book. Thanks for the help! I'll probably be back with more questions when I begin the install. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezroller Posted June 17, 2003 Report Share Posted June 17, 2003 You'll like it. Cough up the coins!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
static Posted June 17, 2003 Report Share Posted June 17, 2003 Andrewski: Be sure to read this howto and The best way to partition with Windows before starting (and print them out to have with you; IMPORTANT FOR NEWBIES!). What I did was download it, then I ended up loving it so much I donated money to mandrake. However, when I think about it, it probably would have been wiser to buy it in a store instead of donate, because I would have received more, given the store another linux sale, and received a cool box :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shen Posted June 17, 2003 Report Share Posted June 17, 2003 Another option is the mandrake club.. MDK get's more money from that..:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gowator Posted June 17, 2003 Report Share Posted June 17, 2003 Pretty much half and half. Mdk get more $ from the club but the sale also helps the store to keep supplying MDK and pre-order more box sets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shen Posted June 17, 2003 Report Share Posted June 17, 2003 Ah good point never thought of it like that.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrewski Posted June 17, 2003 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2003 Static, Thanks for the tips; I'll be sure to read them (and many other articles!) before venturing out on my Linux/Mandrake journey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezroller Posted June 17, 2003 Report Share Posted June 17, 2003 You can also get some pretty cool software from the club as a member. But the forum sucks ass there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shen Posted June 17, 2003 Report Share Posted June 17, 2003 yep you can get quite abit of software but I honestly was expecting a far superior program then what ya get...Most everything I have installed wasn't from mdk club but then again I just joined ....Next release of mdk I may buy a power pack but for now I will stick to the club..:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrewski Posted June 17, 2003 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2003 Shen, So the available software for Mandrake is not very good on the club compared to what you get in the Power Pack? I was under the impression that you could find the software offered in the Power Pack for free or in the club's offerings. Untrue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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