If Red Hat is interested in keeping up their stock price they had better get a copy of the COREL distribution, and quick.  As a true Linux Newbie (literally) I set out with a copy of Mandrake6.0 (thanks to MaximumLinux), Red Hat6.1 (from a friend) and began what would turn out to be an installation adventure.

To make a long story short Red Hat sucked me in with their new 6.1 GUI install, which never worked, nor any other type of Red Hat 6.1 install.  So I went to CD #2 Mandrake 6.0.  Success, well almost.  It couldn't configure my X and even crashed my machine while doing so.  None the less Linux was installed and working from the command line.  Although command line is king, GUI makes the world go around.  So back to the drawing board.  I know that all that was left was to configure my X, but I couldn't, "I'm a Linux Newbie Windows Boy", its has to work the first time (as time will prove for all surviving distributions).

About this time COREL was launching COREL Linux at Comdex.  So I jumped onto the live web cast and listened intently and was mesmerized by beautiful GUI's.  So I got myself a copy (it helps to have friends with fast connections and CD burners) and was not disappointed.  The COREL installation was prettier and as easy or EASIER than Windows (take it from someone who has loaded Windows dozens of times on the same machine, hence the reason for Linux).  COREL's installation found my modem, my Ethernet card and configured my X beautifully the first time without and extra click by me!  The other GUI screen's were magnificent consistently reviled a well organized unified desk top environment.

If Linux is to take the desktop as well as the server this is the way it has to be, not matter who the distributor.

Red Hat should take note, and be afraid.

Chris Marquez (Windows boy quitter & Linux newbie)