Bonum Certa Men Certa

Do-No-Evil Saturday - Part II: OpenSUSE 11.1 Appears as Alpha, SLES in the Press

SUSE manuals



OpenSUSE 11.1: The Birth



The next version of OpenSUSE is out in the wild now... well, at least in the form of an alpha release. Here is the announcement:






Hi everyone,

openSUSE 11.1 Alpha1 is available -- but beware, this is an Alpha with very rough edges!

While testing this on a Thinkpad R51, the system didn't boot after first stage installation. We are still looking into this issue (#411937). In addition to that, the default GNOME installation will complain about a missing package (providing gnome-session-branding)[1].

With the current bootloader issue, using the DVDs for installing is not recommended, until we have a workaround. Please try the LiveCDs instead!

openSUSE 11.1 Alpha1 GNOME LiveCDs: http://download.opensuse.org/distribution/11... ttp://download.opensuse.org/distribution/11... openSUSE 11.1 Alpha1 KDE4 LiveCDs: http://download.opensuse.org/distribution/11... http://download.opensuse.org/distribution/11...

Please refer to http://software.opensuse.org/developer for further details and all the links.

Happy testing, Christoph

[1] missing package is available from: http://download.opensuse.org/distribution/11.1-Alpha1/hotfix/




Bill Beebe has already taken this alpha for a quick test drive and published some informative notes.

openSUSE officially announced the start of 11.1's development cycle with a drop of alpha 1. What follows are some quick notes taken after booting into the KDE Live CD version. Note that this is indeed an alpha 1.


OpenSUSE 11.0 Tests



Going back to "stable", several people have taken it for a ride and most of the impressions were positive. Here is kmandla's take. The blog typically presents interviews with Ubuntu contributors.

I threatened to abandon my Arch Linux installation the other day, and that happened of course — Crux is recompiling as I type. In between those two I installed OpenSuse just for a lark, and because I don’t think I ever worked with it before.

Technically I did — I think I grabbed a KDE4 live CD that was OpenSuse-based a few months ago. This time I used a Gnome-based live CD and let it spin up, install and mess around, just to kill time.


Jack Wallen was rather impressed and he shared his experiences with many readers.

I am truly impressed with OpenSuSE 11.0. It has made vast progress from its last iteration. I’m so impressed that I am considering keeping this installation and using it as my Linux test-bed (first things first — must install Enlightenment).


The experiences previously reported even convinced Beranger to check what this fuss was all about. He did not exactly regret this.

Given all these experiences, how can I still sustain my previous critics of people who find openSUSE 11.0 as usable, including SJVN?

It's under Novell's umbrella, it's pro-Mono, it's hand in glove with Microsoft, and so on, but it works reasonably well. I have previously experienced the KDE 4.0 CD, then an installation from the DVD — using KDE 3.5.9. And I wasn't really impressed.

I have now tried its GNOME embodiment. Of course, after removing the unusable Slab menu, restoring a classical dual-panel GNOME layout, changing all the fonts that defaulted to "Sans" into "DejaVu Sans Book", and uninstalling everything Mono.

What followed? Updating, adding Packman and a few other things, testing the hibernation, and so on. I am personally now much closer to understanding SJVN's point: openSUSE 11.0 is a reasonable choice for people who just want a system that works.

Too bad most of the other distros are not that usable or, when they are, they're not supported long enough, so you'll be forced to upgrade to something that might break things that were working.

Of course, I can't recommend openSUSE. Given the number of notes on various distros and operating systems, I thought I should try to revisit openSUSE for a reference.


As always, there are those who align a given distribution next to another and do comparisons. Here is one which isn't such a case, but nonetheless it considers things at a shallower level.

Using openSUSE Linux might be the best way to learn Linux if you have an eye toward becoming a Linux professional. With its focus on community development, you can be assured that you are getting some of the latest open source software available. The skills you learn will scale up nicely to the largest enterprise computing environments.


Technical Notes



On a more technical side, here is a blog post about OpenSUSE's improved TabletPC support.

Since a while some newer TabletPCs uses Wacom Tablets with Multitouch support which allows to use the Tablet with the pen but also with your fingers as a Touchscreen. One example is the Lenovo ThinkPad X61t.


A technical assessment of security in OpenSUSE isn't too positive in the following post.

In openSUSE there is a feature called Auto-Login. In short it means that the root can decide which user account should be started as default upon boot, without displaying a login prompt. If you are the only user on a system it might come in handy as you don’t have to type your password each time. Moreover, when installing openSUSE this option is enabled by default.


Timothy Prickett Morgan at the Linux Beacon catches up with Build Service 1.0, which gets praised here.

One of the shortcomings of the openSUSE build service was, until recently, that it didn’t help outsiders (non-Novell employees) in contributing to the distribution’s packages. The build service team worked hard in the last few months, and now it is very easy for external people to send patches directly to be included in the main distribution.


OpenSUSE boasts this helping hand not just to developers.

As some of you may know, several weeks ago, the openSUSE-GNOME Team launched the Helping Hands Project. We’ve had three sessions so far, and each time we host an event, the number of visitors to the #opensuse-gnome IRC channel increases. Last Friday, we actually had a record channel peak of 88 visitors for our Evolution mail client presentation.


This was advertised in the mailing lists.

Over at OSCON, towards the very end, Zonker was grabbed by a journalist for a conversation.

Aside from having one of the niftier names in the industry, Joe "Zonker" Brockmeier has a pretty nifty job, too: He's the openSUSE Community Manager at Novell, where he oversees the folks that help make what will ultimately turn into the next version of SUSE Linux Enterprise. I grabbed a few minutes of his time to follow up on things I'd talked to him about back at the Red Hat Summit.


SUSE (SLES/SLED)



Not much has happened on the more 'commercial' side. The HP 2133 Mini-Note PC appears in the Bangkok Post, but there's no mention of SUSE, let alone GNU/Linux.

Not long ago, market for ultra-portable notebooks belongs to elite class where price is no objection. The launch of Asus Eee PC has forever changed this idea. This year many players try their best to penetrate this newly emerged market. HP has come early and strong with its HP 2133 Mini-Note PC.


A short while ago we caught up with the ASUS situation.

Another pro-SLES testimonial has just been published in this site which offers SLES tips. It's just like last week's. It almost smells like disguised advertising (or "informmecials")

Novell SUSE Linux beats out Red Hat on cost at life sciences firm



"This conversion to SUSE isn't because we love open source. It's not about what's cool," he said. "It's because it's the right thing to do for the company."


It's rather hard to tell apart reporting from advertising, but what can be done other than assigning levels of credibility to publications? This one is actually trustworthy.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Frequent Flyers of the 'Lolita Express' (Where Screwing Underage Girls is Big Business)
In the words of Bill's wife and mother of his 3 children
How "Open Source" Became Microsoft (But It's Actually Proprietary, OSI is an Openwashing Front Group Now)
They're still trying to rewrite history, but it's harder when Richard Stallman (RMS) is alive
Microsoft-Sponsored Inauguration as a Reminder to Boycott Microsoft
If you do not support what's happening politically right now in the US, then stop giving money (or anything else) to Microsoft
Fund-Raising for Initiative Introducing Teens to Free Software Instead of Junk Like Bytedance's TikTok
A crowdfunding campaign coming soon
The Fall of Corporate Media Controlled by Oligarchs Who Boost (or Are Compelled to Boost) Reckless Lies About the Poor While Normalising Rich People's Crimes
No wonder they have layoffs
 
Links 26/01/2025: Fentanylware (TikTok) Turns to Hype/Pyramid Scheme, Insurers Failed to Comply With Federal Law
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, January 25, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, January 25, 2025
Gemini Links 25/01/2025: Plaintext Weblog Posts and Software Development
Links for the day
More Details Emerge About Upcoming Long-Rumoured Layoffs at IBM
Without leadership there's no coordination
Links 25/01/2025: Microsoft Chaffbot Offline and Advocacy/Dissent in China Muzzled
Links for the day
Bringing Down or Taking Down an Innocent Man is Difficult
One positive thing about all this is that we've come to witness (and meticulously document) how social control media works for the mob
Plagiarism at LinuxSecurity.com, Piggybacking Other People's Hard Work and Googlebombing "Linux"
They are googlebombing Google, and worse yet, they leverage bots to do this
Gemini Links 25/01/2025: Pictographs, Non-voters, and Frustrations
Links for the day
Links 25/01/2025: Microsoft Already Shutting Down Its UK "Experience Centre", "AI Deal" Linked to Atrocities
Links for the day
Red Hat is Required to Promote Microsoft's Proprietary Stuff and Even Produce Puff Pieces (Mindless Fluff) About It
Notice the aspect of bribed "media" or "news" or "press coverage" (pay-to-say)
The Limits of Freedom
This is generally not a new problem
IBM Layoffs (or Replacement With Low-Cost Labourers) Far Greater Than Reported by IBM
they serve to confirm what we've long said not only in relation to IBM but also Microsoft
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, January 24, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, January 24, 2025
Rumour of IBM 'Bloodbath' in Clown Computing
Performance Improvement Plans mean one step ahead or before layoffs
Dr. Andy Farnell: "Richard Stallman Chose to Stand For the Rights of People to Use Technology as They Wish. He Chose Freedom Instead of Riches."
Keeping busy in public transport
(Live-)Stream of Richard Stallman's Latest Talk in Europe (No Longer Live)
The latest public talk and Live-Streamed schedule were announced early on for the public to know about
Gemini Links 24/01/2025: Drehgriffel, Computer Science and Capitalism
Links for the day
Microsoft Lost a Ton of Market Share in Web Servers Last Month (the Last Month of 2024) and Massive Losses Continue in 2025, Shows New Report
Microsoft down sharply
Richard Stallman is Already in India, Giving Talks About Microsoft Chaffbots and More
he's already giving some talks in India
Microsoft (Nick Vidal) and Co-opting "Open Future" With Microsoft-led "Open Source AI Definition" (Openwashing LLM Slop and GPL Violations)
Microsoft is tainting all sorts of groups via the OSI
Drunk on Chatbots, LinuxSecurity.com Spews Out More LLM Slop About "Wine"
They just keep googlebombing "Linux" and "Security" using slop
Gemini Links 24/01/2025: The "Hey Hi" Hype Continues Fading, Tesla/X/Twitter/SpaceX Associate With Nazism
Links for the day
Robbery at the European Patent Office (EPO), Office Staff as 'Prisoners'
publication from the Central Staff Committee, dated yesterday
Techrights in 0.036 Seconds
Combining Gemini and HTTP/S, yesterday we served an impressive number of requests
BetaNews Run by Plagiarism Bots That Googlebomb (for SEO) "Linux"
Google rewards and thus encourages plagiarism
Microsoft, IBM, and Front Groups That Advance Racism for Profit
IBM has profited a lot from racism and it still does
FOSDEM and 'No Nazis'
the issue isn't wealth but principles
IBM Titles Considered Worthless and Many IBM 'Fellows' Are Vanishing (Also: IBM Staff Inside Linux Attacks the Rights of Computer Users for Recognition or Rewards Like "Distinguished Engineer")
James Bottomley is still "a Distinguished Engineer at IBM"
Gemini Links 24/01/2025: "Social" Control Media is Unsatisfying; An Old Call for a Gemini Without TLS
Links for the day
[Meme] Levels of Outrage
Apparently it's hip for criminals to leverage "the law" to silence their exposers
Links 24/01/2025: Earthquake, Landslide, and Official Implicated in Airplane With Landing Gear Issues (Boeing Plane) "Found Dead"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, January 23, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, January 23, 2025