Kernel Version: - 2.2.14
KDE Included: - Yes
KDE2 Included: - No
Gnome Included: - Yes
Installation:
I booted from the CD and into the graphical installation.
Redhat employs Disk Druid for the partitioning which is relatively easy to use.
After the usual prompts (language, partitioning etc.) I reached the LILO setup (Redhat is already configured). One disadvantage of Redhat’s LILO setup is that it will not allow you to add another Linux distribution to the boot manager – this means that you can only boot Redhat and Windows (which it also configures automatically).
Redhat then detected my hardware. The monitor (a CTX 1569), Video Card and Network Card were all detected and configured for use.
Software content:
With the default installation there is a reasonable range of software included. Redhat includes: - KDE, Gnome, Enlightenment, Afterstep and Apache as well as most other commonly used applications.
Booting Up:
On first boot, Redhat detected and configured my RAID arrays and I noticed that it did support Advanced Power Management. I did not see any evidence of USB or TV Card support.
The sound card setup did not appear to be automatic but can be done using the Redhat ‘Setup’ utility. Redhat also includes ‘Linuxconf’ for configuration. I also noticed that my Network Card had automatically been configured for use (except for the IP address etc.).
Conclusion:
I feel that Redhat is a good, robust system. However, it is not (I feel) the best, as many people tend to believe. The software content was acceptable (as this was only on a single CD) but the apparent lack of USB or TV card support makes it less than equal to its competitors. I cannot really give an overall view as I have only tried the ‘freebie’ version although I am sure that the full versions (there are several different ones available) are much more complete.
