TechieMoe.com

Introduction:

The main difference between Redhat 8 and 7.3 (which I'm sure a lot of you are asking yourself) is a change in the base. What I mean is that while RH 7.3 used the GCC 2.96 compiler, Redhat 8 uses the newer GCC 3.2 compiler. This is by no means an improvement.

As anyone who has had the misfortune of trying to compile a simple "hello world" program in GCC3.2 and has received the completely illogical "COUT undefined" error message will tell you, GCC 3.2 is a bone of contention for programmers everywhere.

The high and mighty coders who released GCC 3.2 changed a lot of the fundamental code syntax and didn't bother to tell anyone about it. Code base aside, RH 8 is definitely much prettier than 7.3, with antialiased fonts, a unified desktop look called Bluecurve (not to be confused with Bluetooth, BlueBeard, or Blue, that annoying dog on Nickolodeon).

Install:

The install of Redhat 8 is somwhat prettier than 7.3, and has some new hardware support, but the package selection, hard drive partitioning, and X Configuration are nearly identical.  Don't expect any new curves to be thrown (other than Bluecurve that is.)

Package Selection:

As I have stated previously in my review of Redhat 7.3, RH 8 installs a LOT of software. The basic Workstation install, (not the "Install Everything" option, mind you) takes a VERY bloated 3 GB. If you want server software or a GUI, bump that up to 3.5GB.

On the upside, the kitchen sink is fairly well included and you'll more than likely not find a package missing should you be a total sadist and choose the "Install Everything" option.

Most Annoying Feature:

This is a tie between GCC 3.2 and the three gigabyte install size.

Who's it best for?

Being a rather well-versed and minimalistic Linux user, I would arguably say that Redhat 8 is for NO ONE AT ALL. It has more bugs in it than 7.3, since Redhat is corporate and it uses the user distro to test out its server software (which if you care to know is still running at version 7.3).

So if you don't mind being a white test rat for the corporate machine, go ahead, I won't stop you. Otherwise, stick with 7.3 or something completely different.