>Thanks, I found the files, looks like I have to install Linux 8.2 plus their internet Security system. (correct?) It also lookes like I need at least a Pentium class computer ..
>
>Thanks for the assistance I believe my Linux education has begun...
>
>Steve Miller

If you are going to run a dekstop GUI, I'd go for their MDK 9.0 beta. Why? Both Mandrake 8.2 and SuSE 8.0 came out just as KDE2.2 was being upgraded to KDE 3.0, and the KDE 3.0 was a beta release. So the KDE 3.0 in both MDK and SuSE were not as stable as KDE 2.2. (But more stable than any Win95, 98, or ME desktop ever released... about like W2K.) Besides being a more powerful desktop (=> XP) KDE 3.0 also includes QT3 and its data-aware widgets. With KDevelop 3.0 + QT3 + PostgreSQL (which QT3 has native drivers for) you have an awesome GPL GUI RAD DEV tool! If this is not important to you then the 3 CD 8.2 ISO set is more than adequate. You can always upgrade to KDE3 later.

The 'internet security system' is merely the click of an option radio button on the install screen. IPtables will then be setup automatically. You can later edit the conf file in /etc/ to add, delete or modify rules to suit your pleasure. When you run the Mandrake Control Center and select the Security option you get these options:

Standard: This is the standard security recommended for a computer that will be used to connect to the Internet as a client.

High: There are already some restrictions, and more automatic checks are run every night.

Higher: With this security level, the use of this system as a server becomes possible. The security is now high enough to use the system as a server which accept connections from many clients. Note: if your machine is only a client on the Internet, you should better choose a lower level.

Paranoid: Based on the previous level, but the system is entirely closed. Security features are at their maximum.

If you choose 'System' --> 'Services and Deamons' you will be presented with 30 or so services you can toggle on or off or set the 'on boot' flag.

Minimum requirements for Mandrake 8.2: P133 with 16 MB of RAM and 800MB of HD if you want to set up a server and use the console interface. All other configs use about 1GB of HD. Use 32MB RAM if you want to run X windows with twm95 or enlightenment as the desktop. Use a P166 with 64MB as the minimum if you want to run KDE 2.x. Or, a P400 with 128MB of RAM for KDE 3.x. Athlons work beautifully. That's what I use.

If you see something refering to the "Mandrake cooker" they are talking about MDK code in the development phase. The 'cooker' is a CVS respository on the Mandrake website. You can get bleeding edge code there. Much of it at production quality.

Here is one source for the 3 CD ISO set:
ftp://ftp.tux.org/pub/distributions/mandrake/iso/

If you need to download additional rpm files to supplement your ISO set find them here:
ftp://ftp.tux.org/pub/distributions/mandrake/8.2/i586/Mandrake/RPMS

You can open a terminal as root (or open a user terminal and "su -" to root. Then run 'urpmi filename.rpm' to install rpm's in one or twos. If you need a dependency rpm urpmi will tell you what it needed and if it is available in the sources you've listed it will install it automatically. Otherwise, you can use the second URL above to download the needed file. (BTW, I avoid all this by buying the boxed set for $70 and installing everything during the intial install. ;-)
JLK