Bonum Certa Men Certa

Do-No-Evil Saturday - Part I: Big Week of OpenSUSE 11.1

SUSE KDE
It came a long way



Preparation



OpenSUSE 11.1 packaging photos appeared in the official OpenSUSE Web site and those who were impatient got the distribution a little bit early (thus not the final version), then posted this video, among others.





Ahead of this big release, the OpenSUSE Web site also published some detailed previews, namely:

1. Sneak Peeks at openSUSE 11.1: Improved Installation, Easier Administration

Welcome to the first in a series of Sneak Peeks at openSUSE 11.1! With less than a week to go until the release of openSUSE 11.1,we’ll be talking about the great new innovations included with openSUSE 11.1. To kick things off, we’ll be discussing how most people will be kicking off their openSUSE 11.1 experience: the installer.


2. Sneak Peeks at openSUSE 11.1: The Latest GNOME Desktop

In our continuing series of Sneak Peeks at openSUSE 11.1, we’re introducing the newest version of the GNOME desktop into openSUSE. openSUSE 11.1 will contain the latest version of the GNOME desktop, GNOME 2.24. Not only does this new version bring with it great new features, but as always the GNOME developers in the openSUSE Project have added our own unique polish to make a truly unique, polished desktop experience.


Before Release



Jon Brodkin, who writes over at IDG (this reaches several of their domains), claimed that OpenSUSE was getting "more open":

Novell Inc.'s openSUSE project is becoming more open, as a new release due out Thursday includes licensing changes that make it easier to redistribute the Linux operating system, as well as a build service that will encourage more contributions from open-source developers.

OpenSUSE previously used a standard user license agreement and contained some proprietary software -- namely Adobe Acrobat and Sun Java -- that made it difficult to redistribute the open-source software, says Joe Brockmeier, Novell's openSUSE community manager. OpenSUSE 11.1, the release that will be announced Thursday, modifies the license to eliminate some of the legal headaches and removes the proprietary software, which now must be downloaded separately


The following Ars Technica article, "The lizard roars: openSUSE 11.1 coming this week," received a lot of attention too.

OpenSUSE 11.1, the next major version of Novell's community-driven Linux distribution, is scheduled for release on December 18. The new version will include updated software and some important new features that enhance the quality of the distribution.


Slashdot's headline, in an item which linked to the Ars Technica article, stated that "openSUSE Launches 11.1", but this was posted on the 15th or 16th of December (2 days early), which would prove deceiving to most readers. SUSE Blog/Rants rightly said that OpenSUSE fans were jumping the gun.

Quick little sidenote, OpenSUSE 11.1 GM is not available, and won’t be for a few more days. If you see a torrent of it, it’s likely a release candidate. If you actually see a real torrent that claims to be a GM, then I will consult my sources on whether this is possible. But as of yet, I wish people would not say that “OpenSUSE 11.1 has been released” when it actually hasn’t been.


Later on came this coverage from Kristin Shoemaker, who covers a lot of OpenSUSE news.

On Thursday, the openSUSE project will make available its stable 11.1 release. I was fortunate enough to take a sneak peek at the new release this week, and while the changes aren't quite as dizzying as those between 10.3 and 11.0 (understandably), they work nicely to make this new release both eye-catching and functional.


A couple of days before the release, The Register covered this too.

The next big release of Novell’s community-driven SUSE Linux distro is set to land on Thursday. Ahead of that, the firm has released details about what customers can expect from version 11.1, including a new licence in which the EULA has been ditched.

New features include an improved KDE desktop experience and better synchronisation with Apple's iPod and Android G1 phone, said Novell.

It will also come loaded with GNOME 2.24.1, KDE 4.1.3, OpenOffice.org 3.0 and Firefox 3.0.4 software updates.


Release



Here is the main page with an announcement, which was followed by media coverage that includes:

Ars Technica: OpenSUSE 11.1 released. Lizards dance with joy

OpenSUSE 11.1 has finally been released and it has finally convinced Ryan Paul to switch from Ubuntu. We published his early look this past Monday, which is a great overview of the update.


PC Pro: Novell delivers OpenSUSE 11.1 details

Novell has released further details of what we can expect from the next version of its SUSE Linux distro.

One of the more notable changes is an alteration of the licence governing the software, which Novell hopes will encourage further contributions from the open-source community.


Jacqueline Emigh, who covers a good deal of Novell, wrote about this too :

Beta News: OpenSUSE 11.1 Linux OS leaves beta

The newest edition of the Novell-sponsored OpenSUSE Project's Linux OS, contains a number of new enhancements built both internally and through the open source community.


Heise: OpenSUSE 11.1 has arrived

The OpenSUSE developers have delivered version 11.1 of the OpenSUSE distribution, just in time for Christmas. As well as the updates to the component packages of OpenSUSE, some innovation has taken place compared to the previous version.


Linux Pro Magazine: openSUSE 11.1 Unveiled

OpenSUSE 11.1 rolled out today, sporting more than 230 new features, many updates, and a brand new license. The newest release is also the first built entirely on the openSUSE Build Service.

According to the announcement, openSUSE 11.1 also includes Liberation fonts, improvements to YaST, and updates to Gnome, KDE, and OpenOffice.


Lots more coverage can be found elsewhere on the Web. There is also a free training course and help with multimedia. Prior to the announcement came this advice on ways of downloading OpenSUSE.

Interviews



The latest Zonker interview comes from Ron at DaniWeb, where they discussed the release shortly after its availability.

Joe "Zonker"Brockmeier is the Community Manager for openSUSE. He has been involved with Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) since 1996 when he discovered FOSS while a college student and was hooked. For most of his career he has worked as a technology journalist covering Linux and open source topics. Most recently, he was Editor-in-Chief of Linux Magazine prior to joining Novell in February of 2008.


Ahead of the release there were some more chats with him, namely:

1. Q&A with Joe Brockmeier at Novell

If you read the Linux section of the Neowin forums recently, you will know that Neowin was recently given the opportunity for a Q&A session with Joe Brockmeier. Also known as Zonker, Joe has been using Linux since 1996 and currently works as the openSUSE Community Manager at Novell. I had a few questions of my own, but found the best questions came from our members.


2. Open Source Matures

In this IT Link podcast hosted by Mike Vizard, the community leader for Novell's Open SUSE operating system, Joe "Zonker" Brockmeier, explains the crucial role that vendors are now playing in helping the open-source software development model mature.


Reviews



The conclusion reached by Linux Format is that OpenSUSE may be shy of Fedora when it comes to certain features, but the overall impression is positive.

Rounding off a stellar year for the Linux world comes the release of OpenSUSE 11.1. Anyone who is a part of the community will agree that 2008 has really pushed the boundaries of what is possible with Linux in its many different incarnations. It's also been just over five years since Novell announced their intention to take over SUSE Linux in a move that sent ripples throughout the community. Back then it was seen as a desperate attempt by Novell to strike back against Microsoft which had famously beaten Novell with Windows NT 4 and 2000. So what has the five years done for SUSE? Are things really better under Novell, or are they just kidding themselves?

[...]

Overall, if we only had one word with which to describe OpenSUSE then it would have to be 'polished'. It doesn't have the stunning bootup that is a mark of Plymouth (found in Fedora) or the blatant ease of use that Ubuntu brings, but it is a looker and also provides a solid development platform to move forward to the next release of OpenSUSE.


Susan Linton of TuxMachines reviewed this distribution and she's quite OK with it, though not entirely excited.

Still, I found myself disappointed by openSUSE's jumping a bit too hard and fast onto the ease-of-use bandwagon. The tendencies of Linux distribution developers lately to make Linux easier and easier while sacrificing convenient customization is beginning to go too far. While Linux should be easy for new users, making it more difficult and less secure for experienced users isn't the answer. Hopefully, openSUSE and other distributions can find the happy medium and not slip too much further down that slope.


Jason Perlow, an IBM employee who has a history with OpenSUSE, called it tough love and considers it not to be a leader.

Over the years, I’ve had a love-hate relationship with the SUSE distribution. During its life as SUSE Linux Professional, it was an incredibly polished commercial distribution with a huge amount of built-in software. In many ways, it was the ultimate Linux for those of us who swore by it for its stability and ease of use. When it migrated to an Open Source community project, I had a lot of hope that it would become immensely popular and take its place as the #1 free end-user Linux distribution with a stable support cycle.

[...]

That being said — had I not cared immensely about the future of openSUSE, I’d probably just format my computers with Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex and say goodbye. But I’m committed to tweaking this release for my own personal use and getting it to work right, because the essentials for a top distribution are all there, and as a “Power User” the raw technology does fit the bill. Watch this space for future developments.


Miscellaneous



Looking back, OpenSUSE 10.2 reached the end of its life cycle.

"With the release of an squirrelmail security/regression fix on December 16 we have released the last update for openSUSE 10.2.

It is now officially discontinued and out of support.


Looking ahead, here are some things that will come to Control Center via Novell.

It is almost Christmas and things are getting more quiet and there is now some time to look at pending TODOs. I mean all those things that did not make into 11.1 because priorities.


For more news from last week, there's this accumulation.

Welcome to issue # 50 of openSUSE Weekly News!

In this week:

* Pre-order openSUSE 11.1 * Wanted: Tester from SUSE Studio * Password Protect for GRUB * KDE4-Repository changes * SELinux in openSUSE 11.1


More reviews of OpenSUSE 11.1 are likely to come next week.

Recent Techrights' Posts

They Don't Tell Us that 'Digitalisation' (Now Sold as "Hey Hi") Just Means Customers Become Unpaid Staff and Are Made Accountable
People are being conditioned to associate technology with something undesirable, at times even unbearable
Amazon Web Services (AWS) Has Layoffs and Microsoft Gaming/Entertainment Division Has an Uncertain Future
it's good to see all those horrible things crashing and burning
 
Apple Vision Pro Failed So Badly That Its Sales Are About 2,000 Times Smaller Than iPhone Sales
What's left for Apple to offer other than hype?
To Millions of People "Year of the Linux Desktop" Was Some Time in the 1990s (Bootable GNU/Linux as a Complete Operating System is Over 33 in Age)
In some sense, "year of the Linux desktop" was 33 years ago
Make No Assumptions (or Demands) About the Screen Resolution Used by Other People
There are usability aspects, aside from accessibility aspects
Why Wayland (and XWayland) Won't Solve the Key Problem It Proclaims to be Tackling (the Same Is True for Rust)
The problem isn't Wayland per se but the false promises and efforts to force everybody to move to it whilst insulting or demonising everyone who won't play along
Diplomatic Immunity Should Not Exist for Anybody
The EPO in its current form gradually 'normalises' the end of European democracy
Brett Wilson LLP Stopped Sending Me Papers When I Showed It had Sent Me Over 5 Kilograms of Legal Papers
A week ago we lodged our third lawsuit
Microsoft Mass Layoffs and Shutdowns Became the New Normal at Microsoft
Microsoft mass layoffs became a topic of everyday media coverage since May
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, July 21, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, July 21, 2025
FSF "Raised Almost $139,000 During This Summer Campaign"
"Thank you for making a stand against dystopia!"
Gemini Links 22/07/2025: VPS Exploited and Fear of View
Links for the day
LLM Bots vs Techrights
Slows things down a bit
New Publication Sheds Lights on Abuse of Workers at the European Patent Office (EPO)
Put in simple terms, they're killing the Office, harming remaining staff, try to hire rubber-stampers
Links 21/07/2025: Hardware, Health, and Imperialism
Links for the day
Gemini Links 21/07/2025: "When Buying Isn't Owning" and "CMS Special Edition"
Links for the day
Links 21/07/2025: Indie Web and Toxic Politics
Links for the day
[Meme] Microsoft Lawyers Throwing Stones in Glass Houses
threatened me with bankruptcy
Google "AI Overview" is Not AI and Not Overview
do not be misled; what Google does isn't smart, it's just ripping off the sites it already crawled for as long as 27 years
Making the Case to Dump Microsoft and GAFAM for National and Digital Sovereignty
"Sovereignty is difficult"
The Tactics of the Opposition (Microsoft Lunduke): Associate With K00ks, Throw in Vaccines to Muddy the Water
Who stands to gain from this?
Europe's Second-Largest Institution (EPO) and Largest Patent Monopoly Office Needs More Transparency, Not Less Transparency
In the EPO, what good are elections when one candidate literally bribes all the voters?
How Not to Report News About Microsoft
This pattern of misreporting is so widespread that it's hard to believe it's not intentional
Computer Science is Under Attack, They Want Everyone to be a Consumer
If people can no longer acquire Computer Science education and real Computer Science experience, they will not know how to control their own digital destiny or emancipate the very same universities that now control the syllabus and instead of teaching Computer Science encourage the outsourcing of systems
The Best Tools Are the Simplest Tools
There's a hidden message here about the merits of sticking with X
Ofcom Online Safety Group Speaks of Protecting Women Online, Will Brett Wilson LLP Ever Listen?
They've essentially became like the Taliban's "burka police"
Social Control Media Relies on Advertisers, So It'll Always Be Hostile Towards Free Software
Sales, sales, sales
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 20, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, July 20, 2025
Fragmentation of Data
Life is too short to "hoard" data
In Defence of "Spinning Rust"
Just because something is "old" (or older) doesn't mean it ought to become extinct
Using Free Software to Prepare Legal Documents
LibreOffice is openly complaining about OOXML as an obstacle
Tech and Technology Are Not the Same Anymore
"Are you into tech, Sir?"
Our Articles About SLAPPs Receive Recognition and Interest
This week we shall continue writing about the 3 lawsuits we filed
Are You Served?
For many people, advocacy of Free software and GPL enforcement are assumed to be happening
Conspiracy or grooming? Alex Jurado, Voice of Reason compared to Outreachy
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 20/07/2025: Security Breaches and Former 'Open' 'AI' Engineer on Hype and Culture Issues
Links for the day
Links 20/07/2025: Fending Off BRICS and US Government Attacks Its Own Media (Like China and Russia)
Links for the day
Framed by social control media: Alex Belfield, Voice of Reason
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 20/07/2025: Summertime and OCC25 Wrap-up
Links for the day
Jamie Zawinski Complained About Wayland, Then Decided to Give It a Go, Now Complains Again About Wayland
Ask IBM (Red Hat) why it's worth throwing so much away just for Wayland fanaticism
Slopwatch: Planet Ubuntu, LinuxSecurity, and More
former "Linux" blogs which basically became slopfarms
Russia Set to Ban Facebook?
If WhatsApp is made to "leave", that means Facebook or "Meta".
Links 20/07/2025: More GAFAM Lawsuits, Layoffs, and SLAPPs
Links for the day
Taking Stock of a Good and Productive Week
We shall now be taking a break, unpacking the new hard drive (8 TB), and making backups of everything
Nice Recovery (From Actual Fire) by PCLinuxOS, New Version of PCLinuxOS Released, Now Top of DistoWatch
PCLinuxOS is a community-driven distro
More Microsoft Shutdowns That Mostly Slipped Under the Radar
Remember what happened to books 'sold' by Microsoft?
Microsoft Lunduke Still Fighting Cancel Culture With... Cancel Culture
There will be no "winners" in such 'debates'
The History of Daily Links and Politics
"I support Wayland, but I also support abortion..."
Ageism in Tech
Your protocol is "old"...
Microsoft is at 0% "Market Share" in Most Areas
Depending on the taxonomy chosen, there may be dozens of categories other than desktops and laptops
"The moment MSFT stock fails to start tumbling, that’s the beginning of another corporate giant going under."
There are far more layoffs at Microsoft than at Intel, but you would not get this impression based on Wall Street media
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, July 19, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, July 19, 2025