Ubuntu 9.10 Live CD and Mandriva One 2010: Reviewed and Compared
Browser and browser plugins: Mozilla Firefox is the default browser on both distros. On Ubuntu, Firefox could not render flash, Java, quicktime, or other multimedia content.
Other than Firefox, Mandriva also has the Epiphany Web browser installed. Epiphany is the browser native to the GNOME desktop, much like Konqueror on KDE. Out of the box, Firefox and Epiphany will render flash content, but not Java or quicktime movies.
The Edge: For being able to render flash out-of-the-box, I give a slight edge to Mandriva One.
Multimedia playback: On both distros, Rhythmbox is the audio player, and the systems will detect when an audio CD is inserted and whip up the appropriate application (Rhythmbox) to handle it. Same for DVD videos. Totem is the only movie player installed on both distros, and on both, Totem will not play encrypted DVD videos. As a matter of fact, it will not even play simple mpg videos you download from the Internet.
The Edge: This one is obvioulsy a tie. To play encrypted DVD videos on these two distros, you’ll have to install VLC, which is easy. On Ubuntu type sudo apt-get install vlc in a shell terminal or by using Synaptic or the Software Center. On Mandriva One, use Rpmdrake (search for ‘vlc’).
Administration and Package Management: Other than the new Ubuntu Software Center, the Update Manager, and the USB Startup disk Creator (used to create a Live USB), all the graphical management utilities on Ubuntu are the same you’ll find on any GNOME-based distro. Some system managements applications do not have a graphical frontend. Notable examples are Apparmor and ufw (if you need help installing a graphical frontend for ufw, read install a graphical firewall client on Ubuntu 9.10).
Managing applications on Ubuntu is via the new Ubuntu Software Center, Synaptic, and the Linux cli. Ubuntu uses sudo for granting access to admin tools. If you are using sudo, watch out! Microsoft has been granted a patent for it.
Synaptic, Ubuntu’s graphical package manager
The administrative hub on Mandriva is the Mandriva Control Center (MCC), which gives you graphical tools to manage every aspect of the system. Some of the tasks you can accomplish from MCC are: Parental Controls, firewall configuration, network interface failover and firewall replication, configure Samba, NFS and WebDAV shares, Import Windows documents and settings (if you are dual booting with a Windows OS), manage system logs, set up a UPS, etc, etc, etc. There is no task you cannot accomplish from MCC.
Mandriva Control Center
Managing applications on Mandriva is via the Linux cli, and Rpmdrake, a graphical package manager just like Synaptic. Mandriva sticks with the UNIX tradition of using the root account for access to admin tools.
Rpmdrake, Mandriva’s graphical package manager
The Edge: Mandriva by a very wide margin. I wish every distro had their won MCC. Mandriva does not have a Software Center, but Rpmdrake looks and feels nicer than Synaptic, though at the core, they both do the same thing and in the same manner. One nice feature on Synaptic that is absent on Rpmdrake is live search.
Network tools: NetworkManager is the network manager application on both distros. The only difference is that on Mandriva One, the NetworkManager applet and the firewall gui are integrated into one excellent interface. On Ubuntu, the NetworkManager applet and the firewall gui are in separate zip codes.
The Edge: Slight edge to Mandriva for integrating the NetworkManager applet with other tools.
Hardware detection and configuration: When it comes to hardware detection, you expect both distro to behave similarly, and they do – somewhat. Ubuntu will auto detect and configure a printer, and will automatically open the contents of a USB drive in Nautilus. I have two wireless USB cards. A Cisco-Linksys Compact Wireless-G USB Adapter, and the other is a Belkin Wireless-G USB Network Adapter. The presence of the Belkin adapter could not be detected by Ubuntu.
Like Ubuntu, Mandriva One will automatically open the contents of a USB drive in Nautilus. With respect to the wireless USB adapters, Mandriva One could detect but not configure the Belkin adapter. CUPS (the Common UNIX Printing System), the application used to manage printers and printing on UNIX systems, is not installed on Mandriva. You’ll have to install it yourself, and even after that, you’ll have to manually add a printer.
The Edge: To Ubuntu, of course.
Restricted Drivers: During the installation process, the Mandriva installer configured restricted, third-party video drivers, and offered the option to use a 3D desktop (Compiz or Metisse). So if you have the hardware for it, you will be enjoying all the cool effects of a 3D desktop.
On Ubuntu, you have to initiate configuration of the restricted drivers – after installation. Even after installation and setup, Compiz did not work as well as it did on Mandriva One.
The Edge: Mandriva One.
Security Posture: On Ubuntu, IPTables, via Ubuntu’s ufw (Uncomplicated FireWall) is started, with the default policy being to deny all incoming connections while allowing all outbound connections. Aside from the firewall, Ubuntu also has Apparmor running. There are no VPN applications installed, and openSSH server is also not installed.
On Mandriva One, the firewall, via shorewall, is running, and like everything else, there is a (graphical) tool in MCC to configure and manage it. But besides basic firewall configuration, Mandriva has a tool to configure network interface failover and firewall replication. There is also Msec, the Mandriva security package. It ,too, is enabled by default. OpenSSH server is installed, but there are no VPN packages. One neat feature of Mandriva’s firewall tool is the Interactive Firewall. Call it the early warning and detection system. The screenshot below explains what it is.
Mandriva firewall attack alert
The Edge: I gotta hand this one to Mandriva (I’m sure you’ll agree with me). Ubuntu just does not have the type of graphical managment tools that’s available in the MCC.
By the way, what is Apparmor? it is:
… a Mandatory Access Control (MAC) system which is a kernel (LSM) enhancement to confine programs to a limited set of resources. AppArmor’s security model is to bind access control attributes to programs rather than to users. AppArmor confinement is provided via profiles loaded into the kernel, typically on boot. AppArmor profiles can be in one of two modes: enforcement and complain. Profiles loaded in enforcement mode will result in enforcement of the policy defined in the profile as well as reporting policy violation attempts (either via syslog or auditd). Profiles in complain mode will not enforce policy but instead report policy violation attempts.
What about MSEC? It is:
… intended to control and manage the security of the system. Msec uses the concept of *security levels*, which are intended to configure a set of system permissions, which can be audited for changes or enforcement.
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Mandriva has an excellent control panel, it also runs most all media files (using “restricted”).
All Distros have their strong points. What distro you end up choosing is you own personal preference.
Windows work great (except the consent attacks, the MS monopoly, spying and other issues), but Linux somehow seems to advance faster. We URGE YOU, THE USER TO EXPERIMENT, YOU WILL FIND THE “PERFECT DISTRO”. At least Linux systems allow you to decide what is best. Please do not take the communities efforts for granted.
Thank you sincerely a devoted Linux User. Peace
My favorite since 2004 has been Ubuntu. Now I’m using Ubuntu 10.04 Beta 1 and I like it. Cant understand what problems mr Keith Stracchino experienced. Ubuntu is by far the easiest OS I’ve ever installed. It find all my hardware without problem. The only problem I’ve experienced with Ubuntu is a thermal program in 9.10 that bring down my computer unexpectedly. After installing Ubuntu 10.04 the problem disappeared. This is a beautiful distro with lots of new goodies. For me its Ubuntu 4ever!
Since I have become disenchanted with MS and its expensive bloatware, I decided to try a Linux distribution. Following “good” advice I obtained a Ubuntu source disk and attempted to install the OS from it. Well, well, despite all the eulogies about the ease of use of Ubuntu, I have been unable to install it, even starting from a clean HDD. (Low-level formatted to ensure no clashes.) Yes, my hardware meets all of the requirements specified, and then some. To put it mildly it has not been a pleasant experience, I have wasted too much time and have now abandoned Ubuntu completely! I’m still trying to decide my next move. It was to have been Mandriva, but after reading the comments here, I’m dubious about that too. Perhaps Debian is the way to go.
If you are looking for something that works out-of-the-box, it’s not going to be Debian. And it’s not because it is a bad distro, but because Debianites are free software purists. You can customize it after installation to make it as user-friendly as you want, but you can do that with any distro. Give Mandriva a shot. It’s not a perfect distro, but none is (I’m still looking for one).
Part of what I’m trying to do with these reviews is a search for the perfect distro or distros. when I do find one, I’ll sing its praise ’til thy kingdom come. But do give Mandriva a shot.
Btw, could you describe for us in some detail the experience you had with Ubuntu. It’s not my fave distro, but I’ve never had any problem installing it on any hardware.
I can’t speak for Mandriva never tried it but Ubuntu just works. I haven’t found anything wrong with it either despite updating 7.04 several times to 9.04. It won’t run som M/S games true but that’s the only thing I’m now using Windows for. Oh and some sites that are only coded for IE (yes I could fix that) and some flash stuff.
There is no such thing as a perfect distro of anything including Windows 7 which is on a laptop I purchased.
The reason we do not have perfect distros is because no one is trying to develop them. The best we can do, that I’m trying to do, is to point out to developers what we want in a distro, the perfect distro. It entails getting involved in the development process. it also entails publishing articles like “In search of the perfect Linux and BSD desktop distribution” and “A perfect Linux or BSD desktop distribution”.
I have tryed Mandriva One 2010. But it take some time to learn Mandriva. The problem for them I think they have the best in the Powerpack version.
Why pay for it when you can get all (mediacodecs etc) in Linux Mint 8 or Pardus 2009 for free?
To install thoose in Ubuntu 9.10 are very easy to if you compare with Mandriva.
Mandriva is just as easy to use as any other distro. Take a look in the Mandriva Control Center. Mandriva has the best graphical management utilities of any distro I’ve used. But this is the beauty of Free Software. Choice ….
Interesting comparison. I used PCLinuxOS for a good while, a few years back, and found it excellent. It got me hooked on Linux.
PCLOS is to Mandriva what Mint is to Ubuntu (roughly). Having had a positive experience with PCLOS, I tried out Mandriva and found it a buggy mess.
PCLOS dated quickly, however, and I found myself using the Mint version of Hardy (8.04). Absolutely sterling!
Now I’m using newer hardware and Ubuntu 9.10, and having played with Mint 8 on a variety of hardware and in a vm I’m kind of wishing I’d waited a bit and gone with that. Not because Ubuntu is terribly flawed, but because it has small annoyances that Mint has fixed, and Mint is a bit more aesthetically pleasing.
Bottom line is that Ubuntu just works, and just works everywhere. Mint adds a bit of polish and follows the release cycle.
Mandriva more often than not has major issues that are simply showstoppers, and as much as I would have liked to have stayed with Mandriva/PCLOS I just had to go with what worked AND stayed up to date.
So when I read a review that compares Ubuntu and Mandriva, and comes out in Mandriva’s favour, I have to scratch my head. Why then isn’t Mandriva top of the pops at Distrowatch, or ‘up there’ by any other rule-of-thumb measure. The punters vote with their feet.
Try using Mandriva as your general purpose desktop,on a variety of hardware, and see how far you get, and how quickly you get there, if at all, rather than just doing a superficial point by point comparison. Then you might arrive at a more realistic conclusion.
If you are using chart position on Distrowatch to judge a distro, then you do not understand how Distrowatch works.
Thanks for the time taken to compare these distros. On my spare computer- Windows won’t install on it- I’ve installed Ultimate Edition 2 {Ubuntu 904 based} and after 5/6 years of trying Red Hat, Mandrake/driva, KUbuntu, etc. have yet to find one that does everything and installs all hardware. And doesn’t BREAK while updating or installing extras. Let us know when you find the perfect NON MICROSOFT OS which will run MS games and apps.
there is no “PERFECT” linux distro. but i am pretty sure that MS is also not a “PERFECT” OS… in fact MS is the CRAPPY OS out there compared to LINUX…
This comment’s a little late, but I just wanted to say thanks for the article. I’m not going to argue the finer points, because I can’t. I’m a newbie to Linux and this article helped me a lot.
November 14, 2009 at 11:55 pm
finid
Reply
“If that’s the case, all three editions should have the same installer. The Free and PP editions solve the ‘Back’ button issue by giving you an opportunity just before the packages are installed to make changes to all the configuration options.”
The installers are quite different for the ONE discs…There is a reason for that… (but a “back” button WOULD be nice)
Much of the ONE install is configured at first boot. MANY (if not most) things like network config etc can be configured and tested in the live environment… and survive the install.
This is a big feature.
At one point you could even install additional software in the live environment that would also get installed, IIRC, not sure if that still works or was just a feature of the lovely MCNLive discs.. (Their build in remaster and USB install capability is still unbeaten, I use MCNLive Toronto” to this day like I used to use Knoppix CDs…)
I was an Ubuntu Netbook Remix user (9.04) and after switching for the 9.10 UNR I had a hard time to configure wireless networking with no success. 3G networking worked out of the box. So I decided to try Mandriva 2010. Everything worked out of the box in my Lenovo S10. So, for me, according to this experience, Mandriva is the today’s Linux SO. Just to remember: this wireless issue in UNR is known and the workaround requires more than basic linux skills.
This is the first time I’ve ever heard someone way that Mandriva Uses Network Manager. Mandriva uses drakconnect, which is far from being network manager. Though they look the same in the systray they are not the same. drakconnect has been around and working more fully than network manager for quite some time.
With drakconnect you can connect your system from the command line. Network Manager has no such ability. With Mandriva you still have the ability to use ifup and ifdown commands. Try that with NM.
To say that they are the same is a complete fallacy.
Right, and I’ve already admitted to that error. Btw, Adam Williamson (see his comment) was the first to point that out.
I have been very very very impressed with the 2010 version of Mandriva. It seems that every year Mandriva releases a distro that is |_| close to perfection .. but there is always ONE thing that screws it all up. I have yet to find that one thing for this release.
Don’t get carried away. Mandriva 2010 is very good, but when setting up LVM, I want to be able to encrypt a physical volume, and not just the logical volume housing the home directory.
>Ubuntu is a GNOME-based distro, while Mandriva >One has separate iso images for GNOME and KDE >desktop environments.
Shall I be the one to tell you about Kubuntu? Or Xubuntu? Or any other of the Buntu family?
How many times did you read your second paragraph before you finally convinced yourself that it made sense?
Mandriva is widely known as the best KDE4 experience around,… so of course you wont cover that. Wtf?
Are you going to find the best XCFE distro around and then test it on another desktop instead?
As for:
>Both are backed by commercial entities. Ubuntu >by Canonical Ltd., and Mandriva by Mandriva.
Sorta truth. Canonical is a company started out of the good will and deep pockets of a sugar daddy. It will one day achieve positive cashflow.
Mandriva is a publicly held company that has to deal with stocks, investors and all that stuff.
Sure, they are sort of similar but one is a one-off project that cant be replicated without the unlimited pocket of a benefactor while the other could be seen a a template (of what not to do in business!) for maybe other distros to try.
(This is written on Kubuntu9.10.)
No, wise guy, you do not have to tell me about the *Buntus. I know a thing or two about them. Here’s an assignment for you: Check out the what is Ubuntu? page. See anything about any other Buntu on there? You won’t because Ubuntu is a GNOME-based distro.
Now, here’s the first paragraph on the Kubuntu home page:
So Kubuntu is based on Ubuntu. Lest you forget, Ubuntu is based on Debian. If I have to compare the KDE edition of Mandriva to anything it has to be against Kubuntu, which is “Ubuntu with the K Desktop Environment.” Btw, that last quote is from this page.
In case you are still clueless, Kubuntu is a Linux distro derived from Ubuntu. Mandriva One, the edition of Mandriva Linux that I reviewed and compared to Ubuntu, is not based on any other desktop edition of Mandriva Linux. I could go on and on, but ….
I could in the future, compare the KDE version of Mandriva One to Kubuntu, but the result’s not gonna be different.
Just a few words
Section ‘Multimedia playback’
To install vls in Ubuntu
$ sudo apt-get install vlc
in Mandriva
# urpmi vlc
In ‘Security Posture’ I wouldn’t compare Apparmor and Msec. Apparmor, SELinux, and Tomoyo could be compared.
In 2010.0 Mandriva Linux is using Tomoyo and Tomoyo Gui configuration tool is the very first GUI implemented for it.
True, Apparmor and Msec are not exactly the same, and Tomoyo is more like Apparmor. For the record, the Tomoyo Gui configuration tool is not installed by default. You’ll need to run the following command (as root) to install it:
# urpmi tomoyo-gui
A few points:
It’s not that ‘no one from Mandriva bothered’ to implement an installer back button, it’s an intentional choice. MDV’s installer used to include a back button; it was found that this was at the root of more installer breakage than any other single feature. So it was removed in a rewrite a few years ago. Yes, it can be a bit annoying that it’s not there, but the trade-off is that the installer is far, far more robust than when it had one.
CUPS is left off the Mandriva live CDs for space reasons. If you use the Free or Powerpack editions, or the network install, you will get it. It is a shame that it’s missing from the live images, but if it were added, even more important bits would have to be taken out.
Mandriva does not use NetworkManager. It uses its own desktop network applet called net-applet, and the convenient configuration interface available from MCC is called draknetcenter. The underlying configuration layout is based on the traditional Red Hat-style network config files, and – unlike NetworkManager – the Mandriva configuration tools are fully and transparently compatible with this layout, so you can use old-school or shiny GUI tools interchangeably.
If that’s the case, all three editions should have the same installer. The Free and PP editions solve the ‘Back’ button issue by giving you an opportunity just before the packages are installed to make changes to all the configuration options.
net-applet does look very much like NetworkManager, but thanks for the correction.