Difference between Redhat, Slackware and Mandrake Linux

[Buddy Brannan]

Mandrake and Red Hat are very similar--in fact, Mandrake was really
just a modified Red Hat optimized for Pentium systems and the KDE
desktop. (This was ages ago.) The similarities are still discernible
though--Mandrake is still Red Hat based, and I'd wager most of the
differences you'd see would be in installation and many of the
X-Window things you're not likely to use. Having said that though,
you'd have an easier time getting a talking Red Hat than a talking
Mandrake, as Red Hat Speakup boot disks are readily available.

The differences between Red Hat and Slackware are quite a bit more
pronounced. If what you want is more hands-on control and manual
configurtion, Slackware is more your speed. Red Hat does a lot
automatically and has a lot of configuration scripts and things for
you to use. While Slackware has some of this, it's much more designed
for manual configuration--configuration files (very well
self-documented ones), some interactive scripts, but a lot you're
expected to configure the way you want with little being assumed by
the OS. 

You may find that Debian presents an alternative somewhere between
these two approaches. While there's certainly lots of room for you do
do your own thing with it, the Debian packaging system is very nice,
having the ability to take care of dependency problems for you when
you install new software. It's worth a look. Regardless, you'll find
many users of all three--Debian, Red Hat, and Slackware--here. I've
used Slack myself--some time ago--and currently use Debian; I hd a
mandrake system for a while (well, it was actually my wife's), but now
I've got Debian on her system as well. 
-- 
Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV/3   | "And if the ground yawned,
Phone: (814) 455-7333     | I'd step to the side and say,
Email: davros at ycardz.com  | "Hey ground! I'm nobody's lunch!"
http://www.ycardz.com/    | --Eddie From Ohio