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This week, Mandriva Linux launched the latest version of their “very friendly” distro. Spanning six months since their last release, they have overhauled much of the software they include. They are offering the distro in three different flavors, catering to crowds who may or may not want certain types of proprietary software like video card drivers included. One version is a pay version that includes various non-free software packages:

Powerpack is a DVD edition which includes support, services, and important third-party proprietary software like LinDVD, Cedega, the Fluendo multimedia codecs, Flash Player, Scilab and 03 Spaces. It is available from the Mandriva Store.
Mandriva Linux has similar goals to Ubuntu in that it attempts to be an “ease-of-use” distro. It has been around for quite a while, being formerly known as Mandrake, and was the defacto distro to point to for newcomers for a long time. Ubuntu stole that spotlight from them for various reasons, though obviously they are still full steam ahead in development.