Mandriva Huh! Well, it's just another in a long list of funny names for Linux. I don't really care what they call it.

It has been a good stable platform for me and does what I need it to do. I'm not really masacistic enough to keep changing distro's every month.

Hey, I heard Paris Hilton was going to be a spokesperson for Linux... maybe we can name it after her dog or something.

KC

Wasn't their full name technically Mandrakelinux, and thusly (probably) not in violation of any trademarks (I'm assuming here, as I've never heard Mandrake and linux used in the same word before)? Too bad, I loved the Mandrake name. Reminds me of the group captain in Dr.Strangelove: Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb (Old Kubrick political satire, for those not familiar). I might switch to a different distro over this name thing it sucks so bad.

'drake' is so much cooler than 'driva'

what were they thinking?...

The re-branding is poor. I leave the country for a few days and this is what happens! I think the new name will grow on you, but it really depends on the performance of the company as to whether they make it to the next level. Personally I don't think the re-brand will help that much.

I still dont get the relationship between Mandrake and The Hearst Corp.

Has anyone even been to there site? I have and I see nothing there that ties Mandrake into there company.

www.hearstcorp.com

That's from Gael Duval--creator of Mandrake on his blog...

www.indidea.org/gael/en/

that should clear some things up.

I am utterly dumb-founded. Hearst is claiming Mandrake will interfer with there business Mandrake? Jesus you have to be a complete and utter retard to not know Mandrake is a Linux distro and Hearst are commie Americans robbing old people with lame ass magazine subscriptions.

Might have to go into the *sucks.com mode for a nice domain name.

And yes they scammed my 80 year old grandmother out of $13,000 in magazine subscriptions in the late 80's.

American courts didn't even do anything to them.

Sounds like, "Mandrivel"! Sorry about that but names are kind of important. I think everyone will get used to it soon and I think the MANDRIX (or even MANDRAX) name is pretty cool! Who cares if it's a combination of two company names; it's just not important. However, the rationale behind the name change is important (if there's a legal argument going on about it) and should be publicised a bit more.

Oh it riles me! It riles me so much I've been signing up to forums I never read, just to have some outlet for my disappointment!

It's a god awful name (imho), do these people actually have a marketting department?

I'm in total agreement with people that say it conjures (sic) up images of 'drivel' and such thinks when readout, to me it also sounds like a name a gay porn icon would adopt (man driver anyone?)..and goodness only knows where this could lead to with the utilities..Hard driva? Please let the madness end!

Like many other people on here, I fail to see how a lawsuit is still running - there is, surely, no overlap at all by Mand(rake/riva) and the comic strip - how can the Linux distribution adversely affect comic sales? Mad.

On a different, but connected note (and since everyone else seems to be getting in on the 'What would be a better name game', I'll throw a couple into the mix)..

MantisLinux - at least it sounds kinda sleek and efficient and similarly named
ArmadaLinux - retaining the Drake connection.

And fwiw, I'm not a massive fan of Mandrix - I just find it a bit passe putting 'ix' on the end of stuff

Anyway, minor rant over, thanks to anyone who read it ;-)

Regards,
Ryan

As a bit of a historical/legal note:

I remember the first version of Mandrake I ever saw (I think it was 4.0?) had, as its logo, a top hat and a magic wand. An obvious reference to Mandrake the Magician in my mind at the time, and clearly in the mind of the Hearst Corporation. When the lawsuit started, they dropped the top hat, and based the logo on the star, which, IIRC, had originally been coming out of the magic wand. I am guessing that Duval wanted a name for the distro that would connote in people's minds that it worked "like magic", or something similar, and assumed that by not using actual pictures of Mandrake the Magician, but just his hat and a magic wand, that he would be safe. Hearst apparantly thought it was cutting too close, and filed suit.


These lawsuits can drag through the courts for years, and I believe Hearst has been gaining the upper hand throughout, so Mandrake probably just wants to get it finished and put behind them.

Ok, I could start a new thread for this, but this could work.

With Mandriva LE '05 coming out today, is there an alternate way of getting it, me not being a club member and not wanting to buy this version.

Think of Mandriva as the oriental goddess, protectress of all freethinkers and goodwillers, (the Linux community, so to speak), and soon you will grow fond of her, and of the name.
(Furthermore, she is told to protect against lawsuits!)

simeandrews: I assume it will be available on the public mirrors for download in about a month. That is the usual timeline between Club release and Public release.

Since I am a Conectiva fan I am not happy about the name change either.

Since a lot of mandrake users refer to the distro as Mandy,

We should just call them Mandy the diva.

C'est le vie

Thorn