Mandrake disappointment

First, thanks to all the people who suggested I look at Mandrake. Decided to download it today.

Until I realized that Mandrake is not free.

Here we have what I understand is one of the most popular distros of Linux, and people are paying for it. What happened to the idea that the free ones are just as good? And for the $50-60 Mandrake would cost me, it does not even come with a media player... though more expensive versions do. And that is if I download it and burn it myself. If I want a boxed edition I am sure it costs more...

What am I missing? If the free Linux distros are as good, why is Mandrake so popular? Is there a free way to download Mandrake that I missed on the site?

Do not get me wrong - for a relatively small amount you still get quite a bit - a whole OS, graphics editing package, office package, etc. But something just does not add up here...

-- "If a million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing." - Anatole France

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