Hmm, it looks like they've cracked it. We've already reviewed the latest Linux kernel in SuSE 7.1, now here it is again as part of Mandrake 8.0 (we reviewed an earlier version here). And the packaging around the new kernel just seems to get better and better, at least as far as user friendliness is concerned.

Installation of this new Linux package was remarkably painless, on two separate machines; one new, one very old, both 'hand-crafted' rather than factory systems. On the older machine we managed to install the Standard version in just over half an hour, from start to finish. That's equivalent to a full install of Windows 98, which is good going. On the new machine things took a little longer in the hardware configuration stages, but there were no major hiccups.

You get four CDs with the Standard package, which was more than enough for us, and includes applications such as StarOffice, Netscape Communicator, the KDE and Gnome desktop environments, Apache server, etc., etc. But those with a lot of time on their hands could go for the PowerPack edition, with seven CDs. Sysops contemplating a new server installation, meanwhile, will be more interested in the ProSuite package. There's now a firewall plug-in available for all versions, too.

Once installed, you can boot straight to the KDE or Gnome desktop, so there's no messing around with the command line unless you want to (it's unavoidable for some tasks, though). Applications can be installed and removed quite easily, and they're added or removed from the menu at the same time.

Problems? We found a few. Sometimes the software package manager, which lets you add and remove various applications and components, was a little too zealous, wanting to remove the KDE desktop core when all we intended to delete was a game demo. And occasionally some less stable applications can crash, although rarely. They don't take the whole system with them when they go, which is nice...

We had a few real triumphs, too. WINE let us run some Windows applications (about 50 percent of the ones we tested) as though they were Linux apps. We were up and running with our Internet connection in about five minutes. And the massive selection of applications in the box - the majority of which are highly professional, and good arguments for the open-source development model - is breath-taking, and kept us amused for days.

Not convinced by all this free software, plus the thousands of applications available on the Web? Then consider this. You can use the LILO or Grub boot managers to run Linux alongside your existing Windows setup, on the same PC. You can even access Windows data files from within Linux (and, as we've said, run some applications 'natively'). And if you've got broadband access you could download the whole thing for free.

It's been about four years since this reviewer last installed a Linux package from scratch (an old version of Caldera OpenLinux). That was a pain, although eventually it did install. This, by contrast, is a sleek piece of work. Simple installation, a huge amount of free software and a highly stable operating system core. It won't be enough to tempt gamers, but anyone else with even a modicum of technical knowledge should really give it a try and see what the open-source world has to offer.