Red Hat Gives Away Fedora Core

 
 
By Jim Lynch  |  Posted 2003-11-18 Email Print this article Print
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Review: ExtremeTech's Jim Lynch takes a look at the former Red Hat distro, finding it worthwhile for tinkerers, but not ready for corporate deployment. Don't miss the screenshot slideshow.

Summary: Fedora Core 1

A reasonably good start for a very promising Linux distro. Tinkerers should give it a shot. Those wanting a bug-free experience should skip this version and wait for the next release.
Web: http://fedora.redhat.com
Pros: Easy install, lots of software
Cons: No MP3/DVD playing and a buggy application install tool
Price: Free
Editors Note:
Jim Lynch is the community manager for eWEEK.com, ExtremeTech and PCMag.com. Theres been a lot of confusion over Red Hats new Fedora distro, but very little written about how it performs. We asked Jim to take a look at it for the eWEEK.com audience. Heres what he came up with.
In the process of changing its support and development model for non-enterprise desktop Linux, Red Hat has given a gift to the community: Fedora. Fedora is essentially a tweaked version of Red Hat 9 -- or Red Hat 10 -- that the company has opened up to outside developers to extend and support. This is good for everyone concerned, and it speaks well of Red Hat as a company for doing it. Overall Fedora makes for a decent desktop platform, marred by a few annoying bugs (more on that below). Whats In Fedora Core 1? Theres a lot of goodies bundled with this distro. Heres a very brief rundown of what you can expect:
  • Gnome 2.4
  • KDE 3.1.4
  • Abiword
  • OpenOffice.org
  • The Gimp
  • Mozilla
  • Konqueror
  • GAIM
  • Evolution
  • Epiphany
Slideshow: Take a look inside Fedora Core 1. The Fedora CD contains a lot of software, far too much to list individually here. So be sure to visit the Fedora site for a complete list of packages and last-minute package changes included on the Fedora CDs. Page Two: Installation


 
 
 
 
Jim manages the PC Magazine and ExtremeTech forums, and is responsible for building community in the forums on both sites. He started managing PC Mag's forum on ZiffNet on CompuServe many years ago. He then transferred the staff and expertise to the Web. He left ZDNet when it moved to San Francisco and came back to Ziff after the split from ZDNet, right before ExtremeTech launched. You can get more background at his personal site: www.jimlynch.com/profile.htm.

His favorite movies include Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Three Musketeers (1973 version), Dune (Sci Fi Channel version), and gobs of others. He can't live without his iPAQ Pocket PC—,he uses it at the gym and everywhere else—,and his DVD collection features more than 200 films. His favorite game is Tribes (PC), which is more than three years old but he still plays it all the time.

Jim likes interacting with the folks in the forum and the content. 'I Love both of 'em,' says Lynch. 'It's what makes the job fun and interesting.'

You're welcome to visit Jim's site for more information about him.

 
 
 
 
 
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