Mandrake

[mike_w]

I'm getting ready to run Mandrake 10.1 on my spare computer.

The main problem is programs - I would like some advice on free programs that I can use under Mandrake. So, can you please give me recommendations for the following:

• Antivirus/Firewall
• CD Burning Software
• Office Package (thinking of Open Office)

Also, is there an update program within Mandrake?

Anything else important I should know before I begin?

Thanks

Mike

[oyster]

Antivirus/Firewall - I don't run anything, so can't really give advice (but my PC is behind a firewall, so I'm not completely exposed).

CD Burning Software - K3B, I'm 99.9% certain it's supplied with Mandrake 10

Office Package - I don't like Open Office, personally, I use Abiword (word processor) and Gnumeric (spreadsheet). Again, I think they're both supplied with Mandrake 10, but possibly not installed by default.

There is an update thingy with Mandrake, but I forget what its called. I tried Mandrake 10, but i was not impressed, and I've forgotten most of the details.

Anything else you should know? Yes, install Ubuntu instead. It's miles better than Mandrake, and only a 1 CD download!

[directhex]

k3b is by far the best cd burning app for linux, can't go wrong there. for office, of the choices available (abiword/gnumeric, koffice, openoffice) openoffice is the most fully featured and has the best compatibility, but is also the slowest. for antivirus, i'm not sure it's worth bothering, but you could look into clamav.

[mike_w]

Okay, along with the 3 CD ISOs, there is a fourth file (md5). I understand that this is used to make sure that the 3 ISOs aren't corrupted or anything like that, but where can I get a program that can actually make use of the .md5?

Thanks

Mike

[directhex]

you need an md5sum generator if you use windows, under *nix type 'md5sum filename' to get a unique has value for that file. if it matches the md5sum in that text file, it's correct

[directhex]

e.g.

directhex@dib:~$ md5sum hexusloginfinal.png
5e491d9ba5dd6fc054475e74a21eed8a hexusloginfinal.png

[synchro]

As far as antivirus, Bitdefender works well and it's free antivirus; Astaro has a free home user firewall that is highly rated. I perfer Open Office since it seems to be the most user friendly and works with Microsoft Office. Free burning software to try are SimpleCDR 1.64; X-CD-Roast or the one listed before in the forum.