Now that I'm a newbie and just loaded Mandrake 8.1 (I had purchased the CD's quite a while back but didn't get brave enough to forsake Windows until a few days ago), should I upgrade to 9.1 before I start learning Linux? And if so, am I going to need an Engineering degree to download and install the free version?

Thanks

Nope, installing 9.1 would be no different then 8.1. The installer is basically the same with better graphics.

IMHO 8.1 had too many problems so 9.1 would be a better choice.

9.1 will be easy to install and run. Easier than 8.1 as the install is smoother than ever and many bugs have been fixed and all the packages upgraded to newer and hopefully better versions. 8.1 would be fine to run if you want to learn Linux though, it's alsmot exactly like running 9.1. Mostly everything that you would learn in running 8.1 can be applied towards other versions of Mandrake and other distros. Everything is relatively easy to do and there are tons of people who have already dealt with any problems that you may run into. The only reasons not to run 8.1 would be that you probably will need to download a lot of security updates and things might not be as smooth as 9.1. Other than that though it's a damn fine distro for those who are new to Linux. Heck there are even a few advantages that 8.1 has over 9.1. In 9.1 the default firewall is shorewall, and the GUI front end for it sucks ass. 8.1 has the amazingly good bastille-firewall, that also secures other aspects of your system beyond just configuring iptables. Bastille won't even install on any of the new versions of Mandrake, (9 and up), as Mandrake used to employ the guy who runs the Bastille project but they fired him after 8.2, and he hasn't exactly been itching to make a new rpm for Mandrake. So either version would be fine, although as has been mentioned you might find 9.1 a little easier.

i say forsake linux and go back to windows

ua gotta be a programmer to git work

mandrake 9.2. is going to be available to the general public in a few weeks so I'd wait for that. 8.1. loaded and is working, right? The changes are mainly at the gui level so for learning linux at the command line - and this is where the fun part is - it doesn't make much of a difference.

If it's running and you're happy, don't upgrade yet.

The presentation of fonts is much better in 9.1 than in previous versions. And since 9.1 is just as easy to install as earlier ones, or even easier, I'd go with 9.1. Don't know about 9.2--it's awfully new...