Rating: 
Summary: It works for me
Review: Let me qualify my remarks by stating up front that I am not a linux guru by any stretch of the imagination and know nothing about programming. I'm a network engineer with a Cisco background. In August 2002 I installed Red Hat 7.3; no sooner had I done so when 8.0 came out and I promptly migrated (It's inexpensive enough for me to afford the "latest and greatest"). Since then, I have thoroughly enjoyed running Linux on my desktop at home. In early January 2003, I began using Red Hat almost exclusively (I have to keep Win2k around to be able to open Visio diagrams). OpenOffice has handled every single Microsift file that I have given it (with the exception of the aforementioned Visio diagrams); surprisingly, two days ago, I even opened a PowerPoint presentation in OpenOffice.org Impress. I'm told that if you write/run complex macros in Excel, OpenOffice Calc won't handle some of those, but that doesn't apply to me as my usage typically includes creating hardware & services quotes for customers. As most reviewers have mentioned, 8.0 doesn't come with support for the mp3 file format. However, even as new as I am, it didn't take long at all to figure out that anything I need is on the internet at FreshRPMs dot net, RPMfind dot net, and other places. the mp3 plugin for xmms is a no-brainer to install, as is Ogle, the dvd player. The other change that I made was to upgrade to Evolution version 1.2 from the native 1.0 (I had some printing problems with Evolution 1.0). Having Red Hat 8.0 allows me to "tinker" just like some guys do with a '69 Camaro (except I don't get my hands dirty). I'm not going to bash Microsoft Windows. Windows 2000 works just fine. However, using conservative estimates ..., you would pay approximately $3100 for a 5 user office with a server. I can get the same thing from Red Hat (including a year of free upgrades) for [less]; Don't tell me about "TOC," I know enough right now to set that up and I'm a newbie. It's just not that difficult. Microsoft's claims to a lower TOC are just that...Marketing Claims. Go forth and enjoy yourself! :)
Rating: 
Summary: The Apocalypse is near!
Review: My Dad called me the other day to ask for help in installing RedHat 8 on his laptop to dual boot with Windows2000. I thought the end of time must be near for my Dad to want to try Linux.
However, this is the first Distribution that I would feel comfortable for someone who is not computer litterate/competant. The main move by RH was to make Gnome and KDE much more "alike" in looks, thus not confusing the newbie. The cut and paste interoperability between KDE and Gnome apps has been greatly enhanced.
However, there is one big gotcha for a desktop user: mp3 support has been remnoved. Why is it not enabled? Licensing issues.<...
This is a great distribution and anyone already familier with RH should feel right at home. For those who are not familier with Linux, this is a great place to start.
Rating: 
Summary: Windows 1.0 was much superior....
Review: The new graphic user interface of this version has been much hyped. If you are looking for a replacement of Windows on your desktop, you will be completely disappointed. Windows version 1.0 was much superior to the Red Hat interface. Windows has evolved over the last 15 years and Red Hat is far far away from making Linux usable. However, if you are a geek and need a Linux distribution, go for it. That doesnt mean that this distribution is without problems. But those who opt for Linux in the first place should know how to solve the problems. For the rest of us - just stick to Windows - life is much better that way, as much as competitors of Microsoft might hate it.
Rating:
Summary: RedHat Linux 8.0: a REAL alternative to Microsoft
Review: I have found Red Hat Linux 8.0 a real alternative to Microsoft products. I can do the same things I used to do using Windows. If you had to buy Microsoft Windows + MS Office + all kind of software (such as graphics suite, CD burning software, Web/Email/whatever-you-want servers) that are included on Red Hat Linux you would probably couldn't afford it!!!
You won't have to reboot your computer 100 times per day!!
Red Hat Linux 8.0 on a few words: stability, security, reliability, high costumization level, lots of software apps, ...
You can buy it or even download it for free :) ...
Rating:
Summary: I didn't know Microsoft bought out Red Hat.
Review: I have been a loyal Red Hat fan since 7.1. I upgraded to 7.2 and then 7.3 and was very impressed by the improvement that I saw. I recently installed 8.0 on my computer and am a bit ticked off. 8.0 is a huge leap backward. For those who say that the installation is a miracle from God, it's not, it's the same. There are several things lacking in 8.0 that were there in 7.3: DVD Player, Mpeg Player, MP3 playback. What are they thinking? Devices that should be working by now still don't: PDA's, Scanners, Webcams. Not to mention print quality for most printers is pathetic. (If you can get your printer to work) You no longer have the choice between KDE and Gnome. You get Bluecurve. Bluecurve is nice and all but does not make up for the loss of applications. Stick with 7.3. This is the kind of [junk] we expect from Microsoft, not Red Hat.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent for engineering workstation
Review: Linux 8.0 is excellent for engineering workstation,
Start-Here launcher can direct you to many system setup,
which make system configuration easier.
Now, many engineering CAD tools can be run on ... PC
with 2GHz P4 (2X faster than SunBlade CPU),
this will kill Sun's expensive workstation. By the way, Linux 8.0 also have a good support in chinese,
Netscape 7.0 can select the chinese font, and work seemlessly.
Great support on chinese !
High display resolution support, looking good in a 17" LCD monitor for 1280x1024 resolution.
Great stock ticker, free games included !
Rating:
Summary: A little better but watch out for the standard installation.
Review: Red hat has graced us with the most recent version of their desktop product. And while it is a step closer to widespread desktop deployment, there are some things to look out for. First, with this release, Red Hat has tried to unify the desktop experience via Bluecurve technology so as to give a uniform look no matter what your desktop preference: KDE or Gnome. Rumor has it that Red Hat has given more emphasis to the Gnome desktop; however, the whole purpose of this version was to give a standard look. If you perform a standard install, you may be a little disappointed with what you find. If you are used to using KDE or Gnome with all of the "bells and whistles," you will find a sparser desktop. Again, it was to provide the enterprise with a slimmed down, easier product to work with. But don't be alarmed: if you perform an upgrade to your existing RH workstation, you will indeed get an upgrade for most of your components and you will sport the latest updated goodies instead of the standard, slimmed down desktop that is chosen if you perform a new install and use the default or standard installation. One thing that has changed is xmms. According to patent disputes regarding royalties and the like, RH 8.0 will disable xmms and you will no longer be able to play your mp3's unless you reactivate xmms by downloading the right software. There may be other minor changes but overall, it is an improvement over the 7.3 version and I heartily recommend this latest release for all of the Red Hat faithful. Cheers!
Rating:
Summary: The good the bad the ugly
Review: Well RH8 installed easilly and looks great once set up. Gnome 2 has come a real long way since its clunky beginnings. Couple of knocks here: 1. No installed mp3 player (you have to go get one) and dependencies have to be resolved more smoothly than they are now. As it stands, if it itsnt part of the install, tough luck, go find your own required libs etc etc. With Nvidia drivers, the install procedure from Nvidia's readme works well. UT2003 plays nice and smooth. Kudos to GCC 3.2. I do however like more of the gadgets that come with Mandrake and Suse. A portage system like Gentoo's would be a real godsend with this OS and make it a shoe in for #1.
Rating:
Summary: Closer and Closer
Review: Red Hat's 8.0 release has the features to move Linux closer to the mainstream acceptance it has been deserving for years. The old features such as stability, security and more included applications than can be listed in this 1,000 word max review. With the Bluecurve desktop configuration, a uniform look and feel for both Gnome 2 and KDE 3 new users will find desktops similar and should cut down on people getting confused by the choices. Both are still completely customizable, giving long-time users the independence they have always enjoyed. Installation can be either a simple point and click to accept the defaults, or customizable down to individual packages. There is a lot of discussion about Red Hat removing support for the MP3 format, support can be added by simply downloading a module and installing it, but, in my opinion that is a bit like trying to get your DVD player to play the old Laser Disks, the included OGG format offer better compression and sound quality. I first upgraded my development server from RH 7.3, I was then so impressed that I just finished upgrading all of my companies machines. This review was written on a Dell Inspiron 4100 running RH 8.0
Rating:
Summary: linux is great...red hat distro is ok
Review: Don't listen to the last guy. All you have to do is reboot your computer with disk #1 in your cd-rom drive. This gets the RH setup running. BTW, setup in RH8.0 is a breeze. It is actually quicker to setup RH8.0 than any recent version of windows (win98-winXP). Linux is increasingly adding functionality making it easier to use. The new Gnome2 window manager is very easy to navigate the desktop, especially by Linux standards. There's software that come with RH8.0 for using digital cameras, scanners, etc. The only thing that bothers me about Linux is the difficulty of setting it up to watch DVD's if you have an nVidia graphics card. Also, there is a little program you'll have to download to enable Linux's media player, XMMS, to play MP3s, but that's not a big deal at all. If you are a programmer, Linux is still the best OS, but I doubt the hardcore Linux power users will like RH8.0 since RH8.0 seems to be made for the new and inexperienced Linux users. It is a good effort by Red Hat to make a distribution of Linux that most people can setup and use, quickly and easily. p.s. One other area of concern for many potential Linux users is partitioning the hard drive (if you want windows and linux on the same computer). Just defrag windows and shrink the windows partition with disk druid in the RH8.0 setup. It works just fine 99.9999% of the time. Partition Magic is even easier to use if you really want to spend the money.
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