My home file server runs Mandriva, and I've been very pleased with this distro. I started using 2009 Free and it was one of the best Linux installations I've ever performed - everything but printing and networking worked right off the bat. I was very impressed and later updated to 2010 Free, but just about the time I was ready to move to 2011 I began to read about trouble with the company, so I held off, and eventually Mageia appeared. I'm still wanting to update my server and I'm considering moving to a different distro, or perhaps just updating to Mandriva One 2011, so while I'm deciding which distro to use I'd like to hear from folks using Mageia about the pros and cons of this distro.

TIA!

I have most versions of Mandrake, next Mandriva, and now Magia. Magia is quite like Mandriva. No surprise, the Magia developers are people who fell out with Mandriva.

I found it very easy to install, just like Mandriva. It detected all my hardware without problems. The repos have had everything I want. I use my Magia system as backup mostly. So far, I'm happy with it.

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Well I downloaded the Live CD and tried out Mageia and it runs very nicely. To me it's pretty reminiscent of Mandriva which is fine.

I know that there is still a team working on and updating Mandriva, so are the two distros (Mandriva/Mageia) pretty consistent as far as updates/bug fixes/etc, or does one distro have the "upper hand" in being more up-to-date/bug free/larger development team/larger user base?

Each distro has its own team that looks after updates, and fixes. Who's better?

I think the better question is which distro will give you what you want. Mandirva is still trying to make money, and last I knew was owned by Russian interests. This is just then next group trying to make money with a linux distro. Mandrake failed, sold it, Madriva failed, and sold it....

Magia on the other hand is a group of developers who's main goal is quite different. They are trying to please their users. Visit the forum for Magia, and do some reading. You will see them asking what their users want, not financial interests.

I find it quite fasinating. Always liked to have an install of Mandriva on here but this time went with Mageia.

In the Debian branch you have Ubuntu trying to make a go as a corporate distro in a community based branch.

With Mageia you have corporate branch, RH, distro trying to make it as a community based distro.

They seem to be trying to use the Debian model for most of their structure. Modified, of coarse, to fit the needs of a new distro and the community that supports it and is served by it.

I bet it becomes one of the staple distros in the Linux world very quickly.

Yes, we all know that... it's obvious. But that wasn't what I was asking.


That's not what I was asking either.

I wasn't asking for subjective opinions, I'm curious to know which distro keeps up better with updates and fixes, and which has the larger user base/developer base.

One might think that Mandriva has more users, having been around a lot longer, but when Mageia was new it got a boost from lots of users leaving Mandriva.
I just curious where things stand now that Mageia has been out for a couple of years.

From my limited experience with Mageia, I've not been overly impressed. I have yet to get it to successfully install and then WORK on anything I've tried it on. Refused to boot to X on one of my laptops, and the other will boot with highly limited resolution, but neither LAN or wireless work, so I can't get it online.

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How do you measure that?

Well,
I started with Mageia 1 and now Mageia 2.
its fine.

Mandriva To Use Mageia For Their Business Servers

That should tell you something right there....

i am testing using it now since last week, its good distro its give what desktop users want

currently using Mageia 2 on three desktops, all three are 64 bit systems with nvidia video cards, two dual boot with Windows 7.
* installation was a breeze, almost identical to Mandriva
* nvidia drivers was a simple point and click operation
* updates is easy, little pop up screen tells me there are updates, I click yes, password and its done
* plenty of packages to keep most people happy
* good support here and at the official Mageia forums

am happy with mangeia 2....one note, i could not get evolution to work, removed it...i then downloaded thunderbird mail client, and it worked immediately after entering the profile info

I really need to get around to downloading Mageia again.

It looks good, but I have a couple of issues with KDE4.

First, I like 'single-click to run', and do not see anywhere it can be set.

Second, and more important, is the way icons in the panel work. In the past, clicking on one started a fresh copy of the program if a copy was already running. That has stopped working. How do I get it back?

Jim