Latest OpenSUSE a mixed bag for educators

It took a while, but I finally downloaded the full DVD image for Novell's OpenSUSE 10.3. A single-CD install is also available, but I wanted to have the full library of additional software available to me, as well as all of the non-open source software not included on the CD, so I braved hours of file sharing, all in the name of ZDNet blogs.

OpenSUSE allows for upgrades through the regular installer, so booting from the DVD and following the basic prompts was a no-brainer. However, it wasn't long before I was greeted with a cryptic set of messages related to software dependencies. SUSE, like most modern Linux distros, is pretty good at determining additional software you might need to run the software you actually request (like Java if you ask to install OpenOffice). Unfortunately, this particular upgrade seemed pretty fussy about outdated software (like old versions of the Java Runtime Environment) on which new software might depend.

As it turns out, a few brave clicks asking the installer to ignore these problems allowed the install to proceed. New, compatible versions of dependent software were going to be installed as part of the upgrade anyway, making the error messages moot, but less intrepid installers (or folks a little smarter and more cautious than me) probably would have gotten hung up on these messages, most of which weren't particularly clear or helpful.

These problems would not have existed for new installs, but many of us will be running upgrades, meaning that these dependency notes will be a bit too common. As you are selecting additional software packages to install, it helps to uncheck the "Autocheck" box, so that dependencies are only evaluated once (instead of every time you click on a new package).

The upgrade actually took well over an hour to run, in contrast to the fairly quick fresh install I experienced when I moved to 10.2. Once up and running, a few additional issues reared their heads. My wireless card was recognized immediately and I could see my access point, but I couldn't connect to it. Reinstallation of the drivers through the package manager helped briefly until I rebooted. It appears that some firewall settings were preventing access; fortunately, the configuration file that handles much of this can be edited through a new graphical interface, so experimentation was relatively easy.

My ability to connect on reboot still seems a bit hit or miss, though, and I've had to resort a few times to restarting the access point to connect. I have a feeling that there is something fishy with DHCP that I haven't uncovered yet.

Networking aside, I started playing with Compiz Fusion, a really cool set of tools for enhancing the interface. I even switched to Gnome, since Compiz is quite a bit more mature under this desktop environment and SUSE has a new equivalent to the Windows Start button under Gnome that I wanted to try out.

Again, this was hardly seamless, as I had to reinstall drivers for my graphics card to enable the 3D effects included in Compiz. One great thing about 10.3 is the one-click install; if you can find the right packages (built just for this version), as was the case with the video drivers, then it really does just take one click to install the software. However, after a few hours of fiddling with Compiz, restoring my title bars (they kept disappearing), dealing with crashing graphics environments, and otherwise frustrating myself, I went back to the normal interface. A look around the Linux forums suggests that these problems are fairly widespread and Compiz just isn't ready for prime time.

One last niggle: while Maple 11 was running perfectly under 10.2, I can't even get it to install under 10.3. This too just requires some additional digging for a solution as it appears to be related to video drivers (a common theme here, eh?), but is a pretty big pain since I had actual work to do this weekend beyond playing with SUSE.

So what's the bottom line? OpenSUSE 10.3, once installed, really does have a great interface and a wide variety of slick, free software. It's a fine choice if you are looking to roll out Linux for students or faculty; both the Gnome and KDE environments are intuitive and Windows-like enough to be familiar without sacrificing their individual character. Gnome has even included some new deployable security settings, making it easy to restrict users from changing various settings (a must in a lab/classroom setting).

However, if you are already running OpenSUSE 10.2 or another distribution successfully, I see no reason to be an early adopter of 10.3. There aren't any compelling reasons to switch from another distro and the upgrade problems I encountered, though not necessarily universal, certainly dampened my enthusiasm for the enhancements, many of which promised out-of-the-box functionality. While the enhancements were readily apparent (most notably drastically improved boot times), I was certainly reminded why early adoption should be confined to my basement and not make its way into my labs.