Red Hat Linux 9 Professional

Only a few months after the release of Red Hat 8.0, the company has released a brand-new upgrade, Red Hat 9. We're not sure why Red Hat was in such a hurry, but the appearance of competitor <A href="http://reviews.zdnet.co.uk/review/42/1/3839.html">Mandrake Linux 9.1</A> might have had something to do with it. Red Hat's latest version offers an improved interface and easier installation, but not many other major changes and no improvement in price. Like its predecessor, Red Hat Linux 9.0 Professional clocks in at a hefty £152, compared to £48 for Mandrake Linux 9.1 and £59.99 for SuSE Linux 8.2 Professional. Companies already committed to Red Hat should upgrade for its interface improvements, but anyone new to Linux should save a few pounds and try the lower-cost SuSE or Mandrake distributions instead. As always, if you're simply curious about Red Hat, you can download the free version, which gives you everything but technical support.