first of all i would like to say that mandrake 9.1 is the first linux distro that i've installed with NO, (i mean zip, zero zilch), configuration needed to get everything running correctly. the fstab was built, lilo was configured, my sound card, video card (wich i couldn't get to work right under suse at all), and lan all set up correctly. not that i completely agree with this (i would have set up lilo differently, but it isn't wrong), but new linux users will love this. no vi required.

i think we're making progress here folks.

with that aside, i've been using mostly redhat for a while, and had a good repetoir of places to get new pre-packaged software.

are there any good archives of rpms for mandrake. and do any of them work with the dependency resolution features of mandrake?

i haven't yet looked at the urpm grpm thingies.

Urpmi is a good thing. It handles dependencies. For new packages there's Mandrake Cooker.

you might try http://rpmfind.net/linux/RPM/ it's great thousands of rpm packages searchable even by distro. Personly my fav. sight to get apps etc.. also try P2P edonkey,limewire,gnutella etc..
by the way in just one mandrake catagory they have 16,000 + rpms for mandrake and they give all info on the rpm as well as dependencies

Also, if you join the MandrakeClub not only do you get a download "finder" service (really similar to rpmfind.com) but you'll also get access to 9.2 2 weeks early AND (most importantly) you will support a damn fine distro.