I've been using Linux since early 1995. I started with Slackware, tried Red Hat for a while, switched to Debian for a few years, and then went back to Red Hat. Since version 7.2, Red Hat shines as a very attractive desktop operating system.
Red Hat Linux 8.0, though, really shines. The developers spent a lot of time working on something they call Bluecurve. As you'll remember from my previous segment on themes and user interfaces, the user interface under Linux is confusing. Red Hat realized this, so it made KDE, Gnome, and its associated widget sets look the same and really nice. We'll surf around the desktop in today's segment, showing off the new Bluecurve look.
Red Hat also standardized some of the applications. Some developers were up in arms about this, as they perceived Red Hat's move to make the interface easier to use as an attempt to homogenize the user interface. These developers saw this as a violation. All's fair in free software, though, and I don't think that Red Hat is in the wrong here.
What Red Hat did was pick some best-of-breed applications and, instead of saying "Mozilla," it says "Web Browser," and instead of "Evolution," it says "Email Application," and so on. Those familiar with the Linux desktop were surprised.
That said, Red Hat has made both KDE 3.0 and Gnome 2 available in Red Hat Linux 8.0. Today I'll show off KDE 3.0. There really isn't a big difference between KDE 3.0 and Gnome 2. They're both gorgeous. The email app that ships with Red Hat Linux 8.0 is the latest version of Evolution.
The best thing about Red Hat Linux 8.0 is how easy it is to maintain and configure. There are well-designed graphical tools for configuring almost any aspect of the OS, and keeping the system up-to-date is cake, as Red Hat has something called Up2date, which is not unlike the Windows Updater.
You can use Red Hat on a PC for free. Using Red Hat on more than a single PC will cost you some cash. Unlike the Lindows service, it's actually worth the money you'll spend. OSDN uses it for maintaining the SourceForge.net online service.
Try Red Hat Linux 8.0
Chris DiBona is the director of special projects for OSDN.