Red Hat Linux 5 Desktop - Fit for the Corporate Desktop, But What About the Home?

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Desktop, Red Hat's latest desktop product, is a distribution making its bid for the enterprise corporate desktop. For systems administrators who need a corporate Linux desktop with 24/7 support this is a solid solution. However, the home user might feel a bit out of place. After all, a home user typically doesn't need Red Hat Network (RHN) and its ability to quickly deploy updates to hundreds of machines. Also, a new home user may not be able to answer some of the questions that Red Hat's installer might ask them.

All of this isn't to say that Red Hat should be completely avoided if you are a home user. Red Hat Linux 5 Desktop provides a solid desktop experience and if you do require professional support, Red Hat is a great way to go. The desktop itself is reasonably simple and clean, and while the package manager does have some weak points, it also is easy to use. All in all, Red Hat will provide you with a solid average Linux desktop experience.

It's difficult to recommend changes in features since one can see how well many of these design decisions fit in a corporate desktop. I think that the split of Red Hat and Fedora provides both the corporate and the home user an alternative that meets their needs.

While Red Hat Linux 5 Desktop is a very capable desktop aimed squarely at the enterprise, on the home desktop it seems to fall a bit flat. I would advise users who are interested in Red Hat to investigate Fedora first. Fedora provides much the same desktop experience for free, only with a number of more up-to-date improvements that would provide better overall experience for the home user. I can see why Red Hat ultimately made the decision to form the Fedora community to serve the needs of the home user as it gave them the freedom to maintain a more stable, clean desktop more suitable for corporate needs.

Fedora