Linux Mandrake 7.2 offers the most advanced user interface design of all the distributions here and impressed us not only with its outstanding installer, but also with the inclusion of the new KDE 2 as the default graphical desktop environment. RedHat 7 also included KDE 2, but it was not installed as the default. KDE 2 is very slick and a great improvement over KDE 1, offered by all the other distributions, and Mandrake has customised the environment well to make it easy to use straight from the box. This is one to watch out for as other distributions adopt the new version.

Installation using the updated 'DrakX' installer created a good first impression. DrakX is unique in giving the opportunity to change your mind about decisions you made several steps ago, and also offers an intuitive partitioning tool, which will help avoid trashing any Windows installation on the same disk.

Hardware support extends to GeForce II graphics cards and the very latest printers. Mandrake uses the CUPS (Common Unix Printing System) printing system, which provides an interface to printers that users of Windows will find familiar. CUPS offers extensive model support, covering even the very latest inkjets on the market very well. Support for anything other than Postscript or PCL is not exactly a strongpoint of Linux in general, so if you intend to use an inkjet, you're probably best going with Mandrake.

Mandrake is rapidly gaining popularity for good reason. It is a superbly configured, very well thought-out distribution that has all the ease of use of Corel Linux without leaving users feeling distanced from the 'Linux experience'.