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openSUSE 11.2 M8: What a Fine Lookin' Lizard

By | October 4, 2009, 12:25pm PDT

Summary: Ubuntu’s Karmic Koala isn’t the only hot Linux beta floating around. On October 1, the openSUSE project released Milestone 8 of openSUSE 11.2, which is slated for general release in November, just in time for the holiday season. Milestone 8 will precede two release candidates to be also released in October, but contains the [...]

Ubuntu’s Karmic Koala isn’t the only hot Linux beta floating around. On October 1, the openSUSE project released Milestone 8 of openSUSE 11.2, which is slated for general release in November, just in time for the holiday season. Milestone 8 will precede two release candidates to be also released in October, but contains the final aesthetic and branding bits for the final version.

Tech Broiler openSUSE 11.2 M8 Video Tour

The openSUSE 11.2 installer, which is essentially the same polished installer from the previous version and needed very little improvement, now installs the KDE 4.3 UI as the default user choice, although GNOME 2.28 can also be selected.

In my last reviews of openSUSE 11.1 and openSUSE 11, I had a number of stability issues with KDE 4.0 and 4.2 which led me to stick with the GNOME interface. However, there had been numerous reports on various mailing lists and community discussion forums that KDE 4.3 is now the fully “baked” version of 4.x, so I wanted to give KDE 4 a go again. I’m glad I did.

Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.

As with Ubuntu’s Karmic Koala, openSUSE 11.2 will use the very latest 2.6.31 kernel and use the new ext4 file system. End-users will have the option of downloading openSUSE as either a DVD which contains both the KDE and GNOME as well as XFCE UIs, or as as 2 separate flavors of Live CD, each with a KDE and GNOME version which is similar to the way Ubuntu is distributed, as Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Xubuntu.

Gallery: openSUSE 11.2 Milestone 8

As with any openSUSE release 11.2 will be jam-packed with all of the latest Open Source software, including the superior Go-Oo.org build of OpenOffice.org. But clearly I think this is the first distribution that will really make the desktop Linux naysayers, especially the Mac crowd, go “Wow!”

That “Wow” factor is KDE 4.3. KDE 4.x is a radical departure from the 3.5.x series, which has always been considered more Windows XP-like in its general UI model, although it has featured a great deal of object-oriented technology that Windows didn’t have and still lacks. While GNOME 2.x is stable and certainly very usable, it never had the sex appeal of something like OS X or even Windows 7, and from a raw technology standpoint does not have the object-oriented features of modern UI’s such as Mac OS X or KDE.

Miguel de Icaza’s Mono software development framework and C# implementation (and Bonobo prior to Mono, which had good ideas but failed to catch on due to its unwieldiness) has been moving to change that, but there has been some resistance to bringing a full-blown object-oriented development model into mainstream Linux desktops.

openSUSE’s implementation of KDE 4.3 finally gives the Open Source and Linux community something to brag about from a UI technology perspective, and in many ways I feel it is superior to both Windows 7, in both the underpinning technology and from a usability standpoint. It is also at least at parity in terms of object oriented technology with Mac OS X, and Qt 4’s cross-platform nature may actually give KDE an edge over Mac’s Cocoa. KDE 4.3 is pretty and functional, proving that Open Source advocates that choose a Linux OS for their desktop can have their cake, eat it as well as flaunt it.

Like Windows 7 and Mac OS X, openSUSE’s KDE 4.3 implementation supports floatable “widgets” that are mini-apps that float about the desktop, such as resource utilization monitors and weather forecast applets, just to name a few. The system includes an integrated web browser/file system browser, Konqueror, which incorporates the very same KHTML/Webkit page rendering engine that is used in Mac OS X’s Safari browser and for the iPhone. openSUSE 11.2 also provides Firefox 3.5.3 for those die-hards that would rather use Mozilla’s software and browser plugins.

KDE 4.x also has a dedicated file manager utility, Dolphin, which is similar to a Norton Commander type of utility and is roughly analogous to GNOME’s Nautilus UI, whereas Konqueror is more similar in function and look and feel to Windows 7’s “Explorer”. Eventually I’d like to see Dolphin and Konqueror moved into one single seamless UI because I feel that regular end users might find some confusion in their overlapping functionality.

While openSUSE 11.2 is still in beta and not even release candidate stages, I will say that despite my enthusiasm for the KDE 4.3 implementation, which is indeed looking very nice, I still notice that openSUSE’s default security settings are set so that SMB networking traffic is blocked. I also had to add SAMBA 3.4 manually, but this may not be reflective of the final product. These were issues I had with both openSUSE 11 and 11.1, and I really think the project should consider turning on SAMBA and letting the SMB protocol through the firewall by default, just as Ubuntu does.

I haven’t used openSUSE as my main Linux desktop OS for a while — that honor, at least for the last few years, has gone to Ubuntu. But could openSUSE 11.2 and it’s sexy KDE 4.3 implementation bring me back? Perhaps, perhaps.

Have you been playing with openSUSE 11.2 M8 or KDE 4.3? Talk Back and Let Me Know.

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GNOME, KDE, openSUSE 11, KDE 4.3, Open Source, Jason Perlow

Jason Perlow, Sr. Technology Editor at ZDNet, is a technologist with over two decades of experience integrating large heterogeneous multi-vendor computing environments in Fortune 500 companies.

Disclosure

Jason Perlow

My Full-Time Employer is IBM. I write as a freelancer for ZDNet.

Disclaimer: The postings and opinions on this blog are my own and don't necessarily represent IBM's positions, strategies or opinions.

I own no investments or direct financial instruments in the companies I write about.

Biography

Jason Perlow

Jason Perlow, Sr. Technology Editor at ZDNet is a technologist with over two decades of experience with integrating large heterogeneous multi-vendor computing environments in Fortune 500 companies. A long-time computer enthusiast starting the age of 13 with his first Apple ][ personal computer, he began his freelance writing career starting at ZD Sm@rt Reseller in 1996 and has since authored numerous guest columns for ZDNet Enterprise and Ziff-Davis Internet. Jason was previously Senior Technology Editor for Linux Magazine, where he wrote about Open Source issues from 1999 to 2008.

In his spare time, Jason is an avid amateur chef and food writer, where his work reviewing New Jersey restaurants has appeared in The New York Times. He is also the founder of the popular food web site eGullet and blogs about restaurants and cooking at OffTheBroiler.com.

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commercial support sorely missing Linux
Me_too Updated - 8th Oct 2009
the joy of commercial support sorely missing from the Linux

There are several distro out there that offer commercial support including the company that this article and your post is about.

Check it out.
View in thread
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Sorry. Ubuntu 9.10 is simply put together better. Parts is Parts.
D T Schmitz 4th Oct 2009
nt
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im looking forward to 9.10 this october (nt)
privatejarhead 4th Oct 2009
(nt)
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Unless you prefer KDE of course.
CounterEthicsCommissioner-23034636492738337469105860790963 4th Oct 2009
KDE is quite a different beast than Gnome. For those who like KDE, SuSE is the best Linux to use, in my opinion. I like their 'everything *and* the kitchen sink approach; it's tweakable/customizable to death, and is simply a looker. The eyes want something too... happy
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I probably should revisit KDE 4.3 and yes I was a SuSE/KDE 3.5.x devotee
D T Schmitz 5th Oct 2009
Maybe things are different now in 4.3, but I must say that the level of integration in GNOME is excellent.

For the most part, I have never felt that I was missing KDE at any point with Ubuntu's fit and finish.
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YES
Tim Patterson 5th Oct 2009
You should 'revisit' KDE by all means.
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I have to ask - isn't KDE like the Win3.1 UI a startbar?
de-void-21165590650301806002836337787023 5th Oct 2009
Don't get me wrong - I think that Linux ... the OS ... is great for many things.

However, in the context of providing a true alternative OS to Windows and OSX, I find it odd that they essentially stuck with the Windows 3.1 "windows full of icons" UI metaphor and bolted on a start menu ... AS WELL?

I don't get it.
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Not to pick nits......
LazLong 5th Oct 2009
But win3.1 did not have a start bar, that started with 95, when they moved from Program Manager to the explorer shell. (although there were apps/app launchers like AppBar, PowerBar & the Ms Office bar)


I understand what you mean though, as there seems to be a trend (which I think comes from mods of the netbook UI's) to group apps & widgets a la PM. Even W7/Vista have something similar

Still I find KDE 3.5/4.3 to be a better/best of the environments compared to any of the current/past Windows ones. the metaphor for ui's is really the same/similar for most all platforms.

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So, you're saying that KDE is using the same tired old UI as Win 3.1
de-void-21165590650301806002836337787023 5th Oct 2009
Firstly, I posted the view that "I find it odd that they essentially stuck with the Windows 3.1 "windows full of icons" UI metaphor and bolted on a start menu ... AS WELL?"

I am well aware when the start menu arrived ... I've been using Windows as my primary OS since Windows/386 (v2.1).

But that's my issue - KDE just looks like it's cobbled together the two main UI metaphors of the last 30 years of computing an a scizophrenic attempt to appease all parties. I thought that Linux was all about eschewing the "tired" old-school approaches to computing and having the balls to reach out and introduce the world to the ways in which computers SHOULD work.

Alas, it seems to me like they've done little to accomplish this and have ended up with, essentially, a spruced up Windows 3.1 and Win95.

This, to me, isn't progress.
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I was going by your title...
LazLong 5th Oct 2009
I had misread.... Oh well...
Anyway.. You are entitled to your opinion.
I would disagree.
It does seem those who only know/advocate Windows, believe everything starts with it/them.

All I was saying is the Metaphor for ui's is generally similar for all platforms. That simple, good, useful design last a long time and is used by many, and all have progressed much. (I too started using Windows from V1 when it looked like a bad copy of an App/file manager called Command Post)

BTW there were several predate both Win3/95, Apple Finder, CDE, Nextstep, Presentation Manager, New Wave, etc..

IMHO KDE is what Windows(Explorer/Mustang) could/should have been in terms of power & integration. I even prefer Gnome, Xfce, LXde, OpenBox over Windows. While Windows old & new have some interesting & useful qualities, I see it as a kludge.


to each his own.......
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"the Metaphor for ui's is generally similar" because of a lack of balls
de-void-21165590650301806002836337787023 5th Oct 2009
Everyone's playing catch-up with the big fella.

Apple's OS's of the past (including NeXTstep), along with GEM, et al. largely copied the PARC desktop metaphor with a menu across the top of the screen.

Win95 introduced a new collapsible "start menu" and practically every other OS has copied it (including Apple).

Why? Because they all want to cash-in on the big-guy's success.

IMO Linux would be more interesting if they'd actually had an original idea of their own and created their own UI metaphors, designs and implemented them. Instead, Linux has spent its time re-creating what already exists.

I appreciate that you prefer Linux to Windows. Good for you.

Personally, I'm sticking with the OS that has not only helped me along a very successful career path, but which (thus far) most of the rest of the world prefer over all alternatives.
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@de-void I don't see it that way...
LazLong 5th Oct 2009
All of the ones that predate had something similar (not all in the same place) Apple's Finder (droped down from the top) had app list named Applications, w95 just flipped it to the bottom. Nextstep/CDE/Irix had similar or you could just right/middle click for an App list/launcher.
(a quality I really Like in KDE3 when working with multiple monitors)

My 3.1/3.11 & 3.51 desktops looked like more of what was to come, with the use of Appbar, Powerbar, and even the MS Office Bar. Yes they called it Start but there was much prior art/ideas/implementations. MS just copied repackaged some of the better stuff of what was there. Like I said good useful ideas tend to get reused & improved but MS was hardly first with anything.

There are various UI's that take a slightly different path, Enlightenment, & Symphony come to mind but there are others. there are even a couple for Windows.

Yes I prefer Linux, but it does not preclude me from knowing or using Windows, Mac or anything else, if want/need. I too have made a living with MS/Windows, but also with Novell, Mac, Sun, Irix, Linux etc.

Why some of you are so hung up on Marketshare/dominance I am not sure, and why you need to dis Linux if you don't like/understand or even spend any time with it.
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@de-void, you mean like that KDE-like taskbar...
Wintel BSOD Updated - 5th Oct 2009
that Win7 had bolted on to it. Right...?

IMO Linux would be more interesting if they'd actually had an original idea of their own and created their own UI metaphors, designs and implemented them. Instead, Linux has spent its time re-creating what already exists.

Somehow I don't think any idea Linux would come up with would be to your satisfaction...
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@not_nice
shadfurman 5th Oct 2009
I think your missing his point, as I agree with
everything he said. There are bits and pieces
of GUI concepts that trace back even before
PARC, but thats not the point. I don't read his
comments that he was dissing linux. I like
linux, but KDE is not linux, so to "dis" KDE's
lack of GUI innovation shows no baring on
linux. Even though they are generally viewed at
the same thing. I agree, I want to see the
linux community come out with something before
anyone else. Which, they've never done. It's
not a dis, its just a fact.
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As an add-on...
kaninelupus 6th Oct 2009
notice how most Linux fans propose their much-loved distros/wares as "alternatives" to either Windows or PC-based wares, rather than "here's a better solution"?!?!

Really, what was the last FOSS, truly original idea/creation??
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@shadfurman
Wintel BSOD 6th Oct 2009
I think your missing his point, as I agree with everything he said.

Well I don't agree with anything he said since I don't believe he's ever used Linux in the first place and is only here to start a fight.

There are bits and pieces of GUI concepts that trace back even before PARC, but thats not the point.

Why not?

I don't read his comments that he was dissing linux.

Well you must be new around here because de-void has had a history of dissing anything that isn't Micro$oft. He seems to have nothing positive to say about it.

I like linux, but KDE is not linux, so to "dis" KDE's lack of GUI innovation shows no baring on linux. Even though they are generally viewed at the same thing.

It was designed around the UNIX desktop, not Apple's or M$'s, so your semantics here are really pointless. At this stage of the game, KDE and Linux are mutually synonymous with one another.

I agree, I want to see the linux community come out with something before anyone else. Which, they've never done. It's not a dis, its just a fact.

Will so far, I haven't seen anything revolutionary coming out of the Windoze camp either. Although Win7 may turn out to be a decent OS, I haven't seen anything that will blow me away about it. It's corrected a lot of Vista's mistakes. That's about it. Apple was the one who came out with some pretty impressive GUI features before anybody else.
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unfortunately I have to agree...
shadfurman 5th Oct 2009
however out of mac/windows/linux linux IS the
younger of them. Yes it was based on previous
unix standards, but so were mac and even
windows to some extent.

I would like to see the linux community start
adding innovation and user-friendliness to
their products. I mean, I figured linux would
have multi-touch down by now, it's been around
in various forms for decades, if it was in ANY
widely available OS I thought there would be a
package for linux. So I went looking for one
for my homebuilt multitouch table, and it looks
like the few options available are fairly buggy
and not at all mature... thats just an example.
With most of the features I'm seeing in KDE 4.3
already available in Win7 and OSX its seems its
still the same story. Linux is still playing
catchup in the GUI/UF arena.
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Come back when Windows can pin windows
deaf_e_kate 6th Oct 2009
on top and also not steal focus when loading new programs
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M$ Harpooned de-void in the Ice Age w/it's Flea Bitten OS!
i2fun@... Updated - 6th Oct 2009
Yah... I heard you were even present when Gates ripped off the University where he studied (just before he dropped out)! shocked

Probably there when his mom helped him burn Gary Kildall in ripping off CP/M (DOS= Dirtythief'd OS) at the birth of M$'s "Embrace Extend Extinguish" corporate bible. Which was written while burning IBM on OS/2's ripoff for Windows and NT of what IBM was paying them to write! wink

You know (you arrogant slave), Linux had Aero effects way back with OpenGL 2.0 and David Reveman's Compiz in 2005. Of course you were too busy twitting and blue screening on M$'s poor imitation of Open Source's set of API's that run the rest of the World. Yes in case you haven't come out of your Steve Balmer stupor from the movie set of "Dances With Monkeys", maybe you should Google (controls over 70% of search market) Khronos Group's newly overhauled complete set of API's. The only complete set of API's in the entire World.

Perhaps you'll find out that DirectX is a mere shadow by comparison in the number of devices it's installed on. That includes, well over 90% of Cell Phones (that now out numbers Desktops over 3to1), and literally every other legitimate OS and computing device. Including being in every M$ OS. Some things punks/thieves just can't do alone!

Oh and why don't you tell us how much of a market share M$ has in the HPC (high performance computing) Cluster World (over 90%). Or.... tell us all, who wrote the SELINUX kernel? That's now incorporated into the Linux kernel itself (by NSA). Tell us what OS powers the greatest majority of the World's Super Computers (including IBM and DOE's Roadrunner at Los Alamos at 1.8PFLOPS)?

So... when you're running a flea bitten inbred OS like Windoz though, it's hard to realize you've been sleeping with the dogs. Where they are continually biting the hands that feed them while they get bit continually themselves. M$ Windows has always been on it's last leg going to the dogs, BSOD'd and mired in it's own ignorance of what it's Ford Pinto Products (born to break) are really all about!

But with Windoz, it's Fix Or Repair Daily OS isn't much better than a Fiat (fix it again tony). Even if it was capable of entering the freeway into the Super Computer World of Linux. Where M$'s incestuous urge to kill itself would Blue Screen it to death! wink

LINUX and Open Source are everywhere you are or ever want to be!
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Windows is capable of entering the freeway
Me_too 6th Oct 2009
Even if it (Windows) was capable of entering the freeway into the Super Computer World of Linux.

Windows is capable of entering the freeway into the Super Computer World of Linux. In fact it is at #10 (ten) running on an IBM with a lot of PowerXcell chips. Do you remember the PowerPC chip used in Apple MAC's? Well the PowerXcell is several generations upgraded from those used in the MAC's.

And there are 4 other computers running Windows in the top 500 Super Computers.

But most are running Linux. Including Red Hat, Susie, and Ubuntu.
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Oh man, your post is hilarious...
tek_heretik 8th Oct 2009
spit several guts laughing while reading it. Nice one! :-D
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What are you talking about? Win 7 is a KDE clone
T1Oracle 5th Oct 2009
KDE is a billion times more customizable than anything Windows ever offered. Here is an idea, Linux is free... try it before you bash it.

We have enough uninformed opinions on the web as it is.
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Customization has a cost.
de-void-21165590650301806002836337787023 5th Oct 2009
One of Windows' biggest strengths is that if you already know Windows, in general, it's pretty easy to use any Windows machine you happen to walk up to.

Whilst Windows does include many customization capabilities, they tend to be, as you pointed out, more limited than in other desktops.

That's for a reason. Supporting customers with wildly differently configured desktops is a support nightmare.

Just because you CAN customize something doesn't mean you should: http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd275/themightyburningbush/chav-car.jpg (work-safe)
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For home users
Wintel BSOD Updated - 5th Oct 2009
That's for a reason. Supporting customers with wildly differently configured desktops is a support nightmare.

This is pretty irrelevant...

~

Customization is built right into Linux, unlike Windoze where it's a Stardock 3rd party afterthought.
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Strength?
rahbm 6th Oct 2009
One of Windows' biggest strengths is that if you already know
Windows, in general, it's pretty easy to use any Windows machine

One of the strengths of English is that, if you already know it, it is
pretty easy to speak it. (Although many posters seem to have trouble
with that too.)

A typical self-serving attitude: I took the time to learn the convoluted
interface in MS Windows, therefore I am only ever going to use
Windows, because now I already know it. Sheesh! It certainly ensures
you will be 'safe' from ever experiencing anything else.

Of course, you wouldn't have much time to learn and benefit from
anything else anyway, because you are always having to relearn
Windows or MS Office etc every time MS creates a new 'improved'
version.

Devoid of logic or reason = troll.
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Exactly
Tim Patterson 5th Oct 2009
"Win 7 is a KDE clone"

Exactly what I thought when I first saw Win 7 beta but KDE 4.3.1 is already more advanced.

IMHO KDE 4.3.1 is the most advanced DE in existence. And this is only the early stages of KDE 4.

We Linux/KDE users are sure a spoiled lot.
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dude, he wasn't bashing, everyone knows it's free. Chill out. (nt)
shadfurman 5th Oct 2009
.
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Other way around
kaninelupus 6th Oct 2009
Don't get me wrong. I love Linux, and wish it would actually develop into a SERIOUS OS, bringing its own inovations, instead of playing catch-up to the main competitors. As yet it hasn't lived up to that dream.

In Linux, I don't want to see an "alternative"... I want to see an original option!
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The MS Windows UI is a good one ...
Golodh2 6th Oct 2009
Lets face it: the MS Windows interface, desktop, start menu and taskbar and all, is a useful and popular UI.

The MS Windows UI is boring, which probably is the greatest compliment anyone can pay an UI. It does its job, and it does it in a familiar and efficient way. That's enough for me.

With 95% market share world-wide, the MS Windows UI is the standard in computing. Quibbles against Microsoft's sharp business practices and the general insecurity of its software (and servers) apart, one thing they are good at is providing polished UI's. If people (end-users) really were unhappy about the Windows UI, they would have jumped ship as soon as they could. But they didn't, and they still don't. Which means that the Windows UI has got something going for it. KDE and Gnome have spent years trying to catch up, and now KDE at least seems to have made a credible attempt in that direction.


Personally I get very impatient with UI's that draw attention to themselves and distract from the task they were created for: to let a user run applications. I'm not against a UI being capable of displaying "cubes on the desktop", provided only I can easily switch them off and never see them again, which KDE provides for me.

If, on the other hand I want to stare at the Micky-Mouse stuff I can reactivate it at the drop of an option setting (unlike Gnome where it isn't even built in).

Proponents of "new, radical UI's", please queue on the left where you can collect your bag of experimental UI's and (if you are so inclined) your UI maker's toolkit. Let us know if and when you have come up with anything worthwhile, preferably through the mainstream press.
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Nope
Tim Patterson 5th Oct 2009
Ubuntu is limited in that it's default DE is GNOME and Canonical's KDE implementations have been sorely lacking.
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Ubuntu is GNOME.
D T Schmitz 5th Oct 2009
The Ubuntu GNOME variant is fine well-integrated product. All the parts from the Linux bin fit together nicely and run smoothly as expected.

Most people I know don't use Kubuntu. I tried it once and didn't like it. But obviously things have stabilized in KDE that openSUSE have returned to making it the default DE in their installation.

I'll take a look at openSUSE 11.2 with KDE when it goes prod.

I need to upgrade my server anyhow, which runs openSUSE, but it will be headless. Ubuntu Server is up for consideration to replace openSUSE.
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Ubuntu is better put together
davidr69 5th Oct 2009
True ... because there is so much less to put together.
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Yup...
kaninelupus 6th Oct 2009
"Just install and use"... just don't try and use beyond the dummied-down designed-for intentions grin
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Pot / kettle
rahbm 6th Oct 2009
That is rich coming from a Windows bigot!
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Windows Bigot?
kaninelupus Updated - 7th Oct 2009
Hmmm - Teach IT and Dig Arts; work with both Win and OS X (as well as catering to a range of *nix distros, and hoping for Linux to become a serious contender); been an FF fan AND advocate since version 0.7, teaching students to design for ALL browsers, not just IE... so MUST be a "Windows Bigot"! Riiiiiight?!?


While I really like Win7, XP nearly sent me to SUSE funnily enough. I also liked Vista, but can readily admit it ran like a dog with three legs when first rolled out, even if understanding where some of those issues came from. Never claimed MS a corp worthy of Halos, or claimed technical superiority.

Compare that with the plethora of (funnily enough) UBUNTU FANBOIS - the majority of who just like the fact that here is a FREE OS that is dummied enough for them to actually use - who jump all over the Anti-MS bandwagon and flaming every thread on this site.

Pardon me if I call you an IDIOT - especially as this thread about a Distro which can actually live up to its claims, without supporting the rabid fanaticism Ubuntu seems to attract!
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trying to start a distro war?
tmsbrdrs 8th Oct 2009
That looks very much like a windows fanboy move.(notice the correct spelling)

Whether you are or not, your posts have been pointing very strongly towards you being a windows fanboy.

By the way, I've seen very few "UBUNTU FANBOIS". Could you give some examples? Post some links to threads these "rabid fanatics" have posted on?
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Sorry, but Ubuntu & SuSE are Ford Pintos next to the Ferrari of Linux!
i2fun@... Updated - 6th Oct 2009
They are fine for nerds, geeks and minimalist. But the majority of Linux distros pale in comparison to Sabayon Linux's out of box premium experience. It's from Italy, where fast cars and wild women live and play. Where they aren't afraid to load it up with plenty of speed, power and the aps to outperform out of box, any distro out there!

No wonder most Americans don't get excited about Linux. Especially when the first thing they're faced with, is having to install everything they need to run all their videos, music and simply browse the web (including YouTube, Twitter, MSN Messenger, Facebook, etc). Then on top of that it doesn't look like it was hit by Desert Storm or pounded by torrential rains in the Serengeti, Kowaloing in the mud!

Linux isn't being used by common everyday people...., because they quite frankly, listen to ignorant diehard Linux Gurus, who are still trying to sell them CLI as the heart of their OS!

And for God Sakes, why can't anybody get these simple Linux name pronunciations correct (not even the website)? For instance... Gnome = NO G, w/ a long o = 'nOm (like the lawn ornaments)! ....even Webster's gets that right:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/audio.pl?gnome001=gnome

But if you can't even speak and pronounce proper English (hicks or worse), how can we expect some of these geeks to get that right! wink

If Ubuntu or SuSE are Pintos and VW's, Sabayon (like the custard) is a Ferrari, rich in it's ease of handling the power of Linux. I guess your average American just doesn't feel right, unless they're getting RRoD'd and Blue Screen'd by Microford's Fix or Repair Daily OS's and Game Consoles (Ubuntu & SuSE feel normal to them). In actuality M$ has always come out too late and a dollar two eighty short of a well installed and configured OS like Sabayon on first boot!

Sabayon takes Windoze (copy of COMPIZ-Fusion=Aero) further than either Apple or M$ are willing to go for the sake of conformity. Other Distros don't do much better. On top of that, while booting into Sabayon, you had better have your seat belt buckled, ready to use it, the moment it boots the first time. Because there is simply nothing left to do, but simply start using it. All codecs (contrary to even Windows), all browser plugins/extensions (like Flash etc, et al) are there. The assortment of aps is absolutely mind boggling and YOU'LL probably never use CLI!

All.... you supposed experts on Linux, need to give Sabayon Linux a test drive. But..., I doubt you can really appreciate what's been put into it, in the first 5 minutes. It's a Hot Italian Bred Linux, that likes to run over lizards and splash Ubuntu Mud on all you ignorant M$ Windoz Ford Pinto freaks!!! wink
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I do not like your attitude but THANKS
Me_too 7th Oct 2009
for the link to the Ferrari.


If Ubuntu or SuSE are Pintos and VW's, Sabayon is a Ferrari.

I have downloaded it and may try it this weekend.
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Get over the attitude
tmsbrdrs 8th Oct 2009
I've tried a fair number of distros, all have strengths and weaknesses.

PCLinuxOS also comes with all codecs, all plugins and all drivers installed by default. The LiveCD is a fully functioning OS which allows full ability to use the internet, including all content.

Personally, I use Ubuntu. I like the huge variety of packages available, the predictable release date, the community and the feel. It's very well put together and you can feel that with every moment it's used.

From your description of Sabayon, it sounds more like it was designed for surface rather than substance, quantity rather than quality.

While I plan on trying Sabayon for myself at some point, if your attitude is typical of its users, I won't be staying with it.
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Ya, cause parts is parts....
kaninelupus Updated - 6th Oct 2009
but wait a minute.... with Ubuntu there really isn't more than one working part grin

In Ubuntu, we have an OS for SIMPLETONS!! Although am primarilay a Windows user (loving Win7), have always had a soft spot for SUSE, as there we see Linux displaying a combination of;
Intelligence (a non-component of Ubuntu I know)
Beauty
Usability
Maximum Hard-Compatibility (Ubuntu users talk about it - SUSE users actually experience it)
Stability
Catering for the Power-User

Need I go on?

Let's face it, Ubuntu is little more than the "poor man's OS X"... it caters to the clones in just the same manner, only these clones care about "free" more than "cool"... and BOTH STINK!!
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We each have our favorite distro...
richdave 4th Oct 2009
I have tried many distros over the years and kept gravitating to Mandrake. I followed Texstar to PCLinuxOS and have been there for the past 3 1/2 years, although I currently have 10 distros running virtual. Which distros other than Suse have you worked with? How would you compare them with Suse?
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CrunchBang! Linux
CounterEthicsCommissioner-23034636492738337469105860790963 4th Oct 2009
An Ubuntu derivative with a lightweight desktop manager; works like a charm on my netbook. Everything worked out of the box, including webcam, all codecs etc. It was actually a shock to see how far Linux has advanced. I dumped Windows from that netbook and it's all Linux now. Nice side-effect: no fear or viruses and spyware.
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Yup
Tim Patterson 5th Oct 2009
I prefer Debian but have always had a soft spot for Slackware since using it in the late 90's.

Spent some time in '99,'00 with Mandrake then 6 years with SuSE.

For those Win folks looking to try Linux I recommend the latest KDE 4.x Linux Mint. Easy to install and use, all the codecs and drivers I've ever needed and a great KDE 4 integration.
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Linux Mint
danmarce Updated - 5th Oct 2009
Linux Mint. I wont replace Windows 7 with it (for tree programs that failed miserably on Wine), but Linux Mint is the most beautiful and elegant Linux distro that I ever seen, running with Gnome it was, literally, gorgeous.

Add fast, and the Mint Tools and you have a winner-

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Hmmm
kaninelupus 6th Oct 2009
Dummied down almost as much as Ubuntu, designed to clone the Windows experience (another failure), and not even free (unless gimped)!

Not sure I see the appeal.
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Wrong on all counts
rahbm 6th Oct 2009
Dummied down almost as much as Ubuntu

A nonsense statement, given that Mint is effectively a fork of Ubuntu.
It also continues the inaccurate slur against Ubuntu.
Neither Mint nor Ubuntu could hope to compete with the level of
dumbing down that is Windows.

designed to clone the Windows experience (another failure)
Any attempt to reproduce the Windows UI would result in a failure, by
definition. Fortunately the Mint UI does not mimic Windows.

...and not even free...
That comment is evidently a result of overdosing on the MS Kool-Aid
as Linux Mint IS free.

Incredible that, for MS sycophants, ignorance is no barrier to them
dissing stuff they know nothing about!
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OK buddy boy
kaninelupus Updated - 7th Oct 2009
Keep in mind I not only TEACH IT and Digital Arts, am a regular user of both Windows and OS X, as well as keeping tabs on some Linux distros, as a portion of our students have various distros installed on their laptops (90% of our students bring their own notebooks/laptops into class, although we still have an extensive computer lab structure), and we need to ensure easy pathways in the area of cross-compatibility. I also actually WANT Linux to become the third serious contender, as competition breeds innovation... so NO, am not some fanboi Linux hater!

Ubuntu IS a more dummied-down distro - even most Linux power-users find themselves dissatisfied with the experience, let alone Windows power-users. This is not some blind slander against Ubuntu, but rather a reality check on what it really is. Ubuntu is more suited as an OS X alternative than a Windows alternative.

As to Linux Mint, it aims itself as a "Windows Alternative" more than the base-distro itself. And YES, like many distros, the free build is GIMPED. Now yes, even SUSE is spilt btwn the paid-for SUSE build and Open-SUSE, but with SUSE, there is actually no code-level diff btwn either build... the paid for build however gets a ton of Pro-level after-sales support.

"Incredible that, for MS sycophants, ignorance is no barrier to them
dissing stuff they know nothing about!"

Actually it tends to be the Linux Fanbois who do the arguing and "dissing" beyond any factual basis. Have never been a fanboi in ANYONE'S court!
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Thanks for the link to Linux Mint
Me_too 7th Oct 2009
I am going to be trying it as well as others, some that I read about here. happy
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What's with the task bar anyways?
CobraA1 4th Oct 2009
What's with the task bar anyways? I've been trying KDE
a lot myself, and I like it maximized to fill the
window - but it always seems to forget I like it
maximized and won't resize to fill the bottom when I
resize a VM window.

. . . and frankly, they need a less grey skin to be
the default. Grey is a nice neutral color, yes - but
maybe a bit too neutral. They need to "show off" their
best stuff better on a default install.

. . . and FYI: Vista has the widgets too. Normally on
the sidebar, but you can float them and remove the
sidebar. I noticed you mentioned Windows 7 and MacOS,
but not Vista.

. . . and I really hope that Open Office
doesn't kill their interface in future versions. While
I'm actually a fan of the ribbon: If it's not done
right, it shouldn't be done at all.

"what's a plasma dashboard?" *click* *bar disappears*

heh - something that isn't "average joe" friendly. I
can imagine my mother with this feature. *accidental
click* "Where did everything go?" (hollers my name)

Tip for Linux UI designers:

-Techies love clicking on stuff and experimenting.

-Users are afraid of clicking anything, and often make
accidental clicks. They're too afraid they'll mess up
something, and are very shy of experimenting. They
tend to panic if something disappears.

. . . and I believe that "SuSE" ends with an "e" not
an "a" - and I believe "gnome" generally has a silent
"g." If they're following the same pronunciation as
"garden gnomes."
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How do you pronounce Suse?
SMparky 5th Oct 2009
Lol, the first problem new users have with Linux is pronunciation. People don't want to sound clueless, and if you can't pronounce it you might even stay away from it. Articles should always reference the phonetic pronunciation if there is any question. (Eww-buntoo, or You-buntoo? I've heard both). Remember, all computer users have heard of Windows. Most know about Macs, but couldn't tell you the name of the OS, since many people don't even know what an OS is (or care, as long as it works). Lots of people are unaware of Linux or Unix (sorry fan boys, it's true). Every industry has its tech details and lingo that the rest of the world couldn't care less about). Many people who have heard of Linux or Unix may not even know that there are many different versions. If you're a fan, try to make it easy for newbies, and the first step is to know how to say it.

I've heard several different ways to say Suse (Susie, Seus, SooSay). Tech people I know often say "Novell Linux" lol since they aren't sure. (Is it Novel, or No-vell ha-ha)

I've noticed people seem to be pronouncing Linux correctly lately so at least there is progress. (at least I think it's Lin - ics, not Line - x)

I still hear people calling it geh-nome rather than nome, but then again with all the strange rules we have in English you never know for sure.

Modzilla - like the movie monster? I hear some people say mo-zilla. Who's correct?

Does anyone say ca-deh or kaydee rather than K - D - E?

lol I'm a tech guy, not an English teacher. Help. Maybe that's a good idea for a tech republic article. (other industries have the same confusion issue. Nike, Porsche etc). Commander "Da-ta" on Star "Track" might consider this "few-til".
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RE: openSUSE 11.2 M8: What a Fine Lookin' Lizard
Loverock Davidson 4th Oct 2009
Its still linux underneath so you will have the same problems. No thanks, I have better things to do than troubleshoot sound issues, dependency hell, and recompiling. I prefer a system that just works and linux simply doesn't offer that. Why would anyone want to run a bloated OS like linux? Even Linus Torvalds will be abandoning it soon because its no good.
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commercial support sorely missing Linux
Me_too Updated - 8th Oct 2009
the joy of commercial support sorely missing from the Linux

There are several distro out there that offer commercial support including the company that this article and your post is about.

Check it out.

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