If you have any interest in tracking product development and maybe getting a little help if you
need it, you'll want to keep on top of Mandriva news, forums, and Linux User Groups (LUGs).
User forums are a priceless tool for finding solutions to problems, getting involved in softwarerelated
projects, or just connecting with other Mandriva users. The Mandriva users' forum
(http://mandrivausers·org/) is a great one with especially in-depth information on installation and configuration.
The Mandriva Club forums (http://forums·mandriva·com) are also popular. You get temporary
free access to Mandriva Club when you purchase any retail Mandriva product, or you can
separately enroll in the club and make use of its services. If you find you like Mandriva and will be
using it long-term, it's probably a good idea to join the Mandriva Club because you'll have access to
official support and your funds will help the development of the product.
Another critical resource for information on all things Linux is your local Linux user group (LUG).
Each LUG is different, but you are apt to find a number of like-minded users with whom to inter-
act in a variety of situations. If you have no idea how to find the nearest LUG, you can try using
your favorite search engine to look for the words "Linux Users Group," along with the name of the
nearest big town or city.
Installing Mandriva Limited Edition
To check out Mandriva for the first time, you have several options. Mandriva One is a live CD
that can also be used as a basic installer. The other free option is to download the four-CD set of
Mandriva Linux Free. If you like the distribution, I encourage you to purchase a Mandriva Linux
2008 product and/or join the Mandriva Club Edition.
To review your options, refer to the Mandriva Linux Download page at www·mandriva·com/en/download.
If you are content to try out the live CD and install the contents of the CD to your hard disk, you
can follow the instructions in this section. An image of the Mandriva One live CD is included on
the DVD that comes with this book and can be booted directly from the DVD.
NOTE
The DVD that comes with this book includes the English GNOME version of Mandriva
One. If you prefer the KDE version or any of several different language versions, refer
to the Mandriva One Download page (www·mandriva·com/en/download/mandrivaone).
Appendix A explains how to burn the installation CDs from the CD images, if you decide to download
Mandriva CDs yourself.
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