|  Red Hat Linux is an easy-to-use Linux distribution, famed the world over for making Linux easy enough for all users. With both Mandrake and SuSE releasing new versions, Red Hat has joined the fray by releasing the successor to Red Hat 8.0. Sporting an installation system friendlier than even Windows XP, RedHat 9.0 installed perfectly on a test laptop and really was foolproof. All the hardware was auto-detected, and we point-and-clicked our way to a fully working desktop system in under half an hour. Alternatively, we could have turned the machine into a server system using the same CDs simply by selecting ‘Server’ rather than ‘Workstation’ in the installation. Our installation took up a little under 1.5GB, but for that we got office suites, image editors, various programming languages, and even a selection of games. | Red Hat 9.0 includes the latest versions of all the software it bundles, including GNOME, KDE, OpenOffice, Mozilla, and others. GNOME and KDE both share the same attractive Bluecurve theme used by Red Hat, which means that new users will find it easier to use than ever. If you download all three CDs, you’ll find you have everything you need to take full advantage of the power of your computer, including web servers, database servers, 3D games, spreadsheets and more. Installation is easy thanks to Red Hat’s advanced package management system, RPM. |
| Naturally, downloading software means you don’t get official support from Red Hat, and that you get no printed documentation. If these are things you can’t live without, consider buying the boxed set. Also, people often have their own favourite distribution, so you might find yourself more at home using Mandrake or Debian. If you’re happy to use the free download version (it’s complete in itself) you’ll get along just fine. With Red Hat 9.0, users can download, install, and start using a powerful, feature-packed and free operating system in under an hour – a sure win for both Red Hat and users looking to switch to Linux. |
