"In conclusion, the latest Linux-Mandrake distribution
has plenty of room for improvement. My testing showed some new
installation features to be simply incomplete. But this release
neverthless maintains Mandrake's position as the easiest -- and one
of the most complete -- Linux distributions available. Mandrakesoft
has targeted new Linux users of all kinds, from network
administrators switching their LAN or webserver, to developers, to
home users disenchanted with Microsoft. All of these people will
find switching over to Linux a little less painful thanks to
Mandrake.
One could easily speculate that this latest offering was rushed
for reasons relating to Mandrakesoft's recent IPO. Perhaps the
problems in new features included in 8.1 were not resolved in order
to meet deadlines and appease investors. But anyone who works for
Mandrakesoft, or for any software company for that matter, will
likely explain that all software releases are rushed, and there is
always work that they feel they've left undone. The promise of 8.1
is that the exciting new features will be fixed and improved as
they're added: the inevitable course of all development."
