Bonum Certa Men Certa

Do-No-Evil Saturday - Part II: OpenSUSE 11.1 Reaches Second Alpha

SUSE in Green



The big news of the week was probably this alpha release, which was announced a few days ago. From Christoph's E-mail:




[opensuse-announce] openSUSE 11.1 Alpha2 is available





Hi everyone,

openSUSE 11.1 Alpha2 is available and ready for testing. This time it is actually installable and bootable ;) But you'll need to be quick and select the right boot option from the bootmenu. Due to bug #418619, "Failsafe" is the default boot option. Please make sure to always select real "openSUSE 10.0.42 - 2.6.26-14" option!

On x86_64, please make sure to always disable the image-based installation from the summary screen, before the actual instllation starts!

There will be no LiveCD with this Alpha, but we are planning on doing an Alpha2plus LiveCD next week.

openSUSE 11.1 Alpha2 is available from http://download.opensuse.org/distribution/11.1-Alpha2/iso/

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

Known issues / workarounds:

- image-based installation on x86_64 will not work without problem, as the images on the ISO don't match the RPMs. You'll get errors around "unable to remove pam-config".

Workaround: always disable image-based installation on x86_64!

- Bug 418619: Failsafe kernel is default in menu.lst

Important: Please make sure to boot the right kernel -- failsafe can cause trouble on some maschines

- Bug 418592: gdm doesn't start on some maschines

- Bug 418577: Bootloader: cannot update the dynamic configuration policy

- Bug 418729: Could not find /dev/disk/by-id/scsi-SATA_...

- various AutoYast-related bugs * Bug 418574: AutoYast is ManualYast in 2nd stage * Bug 418707: Firewall services still enabled although disabled in Autoyast profile * Bug 418568: uuidgen missing




Here is a review of OpenSUSE 11.0 GM. There's a breakdown at the end:

The Good

* Installer was easy to use * Interface was nice * Configuring things is quick with YAST * User Friendly * Pretty Fast when using * YAST

The Bad

* Technical Language (Not bad for me, but maybe another user) * Boot Is slow * YAST for package managing is just a little slow

The Inbetween

* YAST * Technical Language


Detailed new review of OpenSUSE 11.0:

openSUSE 11.0 is a solid release with all the functionality you could ever need on the installation DVD. If by some chance it's not on the DVD, you'll more than likely find it on the openSUSE.org website. Installation is painless and operation is smooth. openSUSE 11.0 is definitely a distribution worthy of your investigation.


Another OpenSUSE ramble:

Simply put I still LOVE openSuse. Of course theres a few things that need work, but overall its a wonderful distro that I strongly recommend.

Ok so for a bit of back story I’ve been using windows since i think 3.1. When i was a kid my dad taught me to use the green screens, and i’ve been using linux off and on since about 2000. Also I’ve rarely used kde.


The OpenSUSE project proudly announced the inclusion of SELinux and Heise covered this shortly afterwards. It will come in the next version.

The next releases of SUSE Linux, OpenSUSE 11.1 and SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 (SLES), will see the security extension SELinux moving into the SUSE distribution. SUSE's current security extension, AppArmour, will remain enabled by default. SUSE describe SELinux's inclusion as a technology preview and are not offering enterprise suppport or any ready made SELinux security policy files. SUSE say they are focussing on supplying the necessary kernel patches and changes to applications to allow for SELinux operation.


Duncan has this technical post, which is just one among many from SUSEGeek and others.

Today I used some of the coolest openSUSE Build Service features: project layering, patches against linked packages and aggregates. I want to write about them.


The SUSE bootloader got some attention and this detailed article about GRUB and LILO was later published.

You may not realize it unless you are dual booting multiple operating systems, but after your BIOS starts firing up the fan, the microprocessor chip, and the power supply, a boot manager, or bootloader, takes over the process until the kernel starts up.

Linux supports a variety of open-source and proprietary boot managers, but you can install only two with YaST: the Grand Unified Bootloader (GRUB) and the Linux Loader (LILO). GRUB has been the default bootloader for SUSE Linux since v8.2, but LILO still runs quite a few systems, and you may want to use it instead.


Installment #34 of Weekly News came a little late this week (vacation might be the cause). At least it arrived, eventually.

Welcome to issue #34 of openSUSE Weekly News!

In the last two weeks:

* Announcing ENOS 2008 * Join the openSUSE Proofreading Team * Announcing Hack Week III * openSUSE TV


The 35th installment is out now as well.

Welcome to issue #35 of openSUSE Weekly News!

In this week:

* openSUSE 11.1 Alpha2 is available * Hack Week III is almost here! * openSUSE to add SELinux Basic Enablement in 11.1 * Masim Sugianto: Linux Distribution Popularity Across the Globe


OpenSUSE will be at FrOSCon tomorrow. It was also there today.

Join the openSUSE Project this weekend, Saturday August 23, and Sunday August 24, at third annual FrOSCon. FrOSCon is a two day conference on Free Software and Open Source, taking place at the Fachhochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg in Sankt Augustin near the cities of Bonn and Cologne.


Have a lot of fun.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Microsoft Problems in Europe Even Before the Cheeto Tariffs
The case of Romania, Europe's notorious Microsoft fan
Oman in 2025: GNU/Linux Growing to 5%
what can Microsoft do about it except sabotage the PCs?
Microsoft Shares Collapse Again (Down $101), Fifth Round of Microsoft Mass Layoffs in Less Than 100 Days in 2025
disaster
Windows Has Fallen to All-Time Lows in Switzerland Since GNU Celebrated 40th Anniversary (GNU’s 40th Birthday in Biel, Switzerland)
GNU/Linux has been doing well in Switzerland
 
Gemini Links 07/04/2025: Stock Market, Galène, and DMT Entities
Links for the day
During the Weekend We Said Fedora DEI Requires Proprietary Software, Now the Chat About It Is No Longer Accessible Over the Open Web
is this just a coincidence and an habitual change in Element?
Links 07/04/2025: US Measles Fatalities and China Launches HDMI and DisplayPort Alternative
Links for the day
Links 07/04/2025: More Cuts to Science Funding, Snail-speed Internet in Germany
Links for the day
Gemini Links 07/04/2025: Leasehold and Safe Gifts
Links for the day
In Some Countries, Laptops and Desktops Become a Dying Breed (Even Before Tariffs), Windows Has Nowhere to Go
expect more GNU/Linux on new and existing laptops
When the Credibility or 'Quality' of Clients Ceases to Matter, It's About Helping Rich Companies Like Microsoft Censor Critics (No Matter the Risks)
Bad ideas typically result in undesirable outcomes
UAE: GNU/Linux and Android at Record Levels, Windows at New Lows and Falling Below Apple
Even iOS is measured as bigger than Windows this month
Links 07/04/2025: Reddit Occupied (Social Control Media Controlled by Oligarchy), Demise of Globalisation Ongoing
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, April 06, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, April 06, 2025
Links 07/04/2025: Leaving Gemini/smolweb and Mastodon Migrations
Links for the day
In Iraq, Windows 3.1 (Percent)
There's also zero
One Person's Take on Jef Spaleta, the New Fedora Project Leader
"With a little searching, I wonder what else may be found regarding Microsoft."
Links 06/04/2025: Flood, Cool Gemini Capsule, and Long Form
Links for the day
Links 06/04/2025: Science, Politics, and Pricier Goods
Links for the day
LLM Slop Has Virtually Killed unixmen.com and Many Other Sites
There's no longer any incentive to write real articles in there
Sharp Declines for Microsoft Windows in Bangladesh (Pop. ~175,000,000), Big Gains for GNU/Linux
Microsoft Windows has been having a really hard time in poor countries
Links 06/04/2025: Fake Reviews, Privatisation Heists, and "AI" as Smokescreen for Impoverishing Humans
Links for the day
Taking a Moral Stand Against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) and the Worst Offenders/Facilitators
Any other stance would sidle with moral depravity or moral hazard
Links 06/04/2025: Many New Acts of Repression and Elements of Financial Depression
Links for the day
In Qatar GNU/Linux Rose From Under 1% to Over 4% in Two Years (or Over 5% If Counting ChromeOS)
It's a big improvement compared to what we saw last year
LLM Scrapers Are a Nuisance, But They're Also a Reminder It's Time to Make Your Site Static
Perhaps the best protection is the ability to endure surges
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, April 05, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, April 05, 2025
Links 06/04/2025: Attacks on Education, Fake Patents, and Fake (Illegal) Patent Courts
Links for the day
France: Apple and Microsoft Down, GNU/Linux Up to New Record Levels
How will tariffs against France impact things in the coming months?
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Privacy Fiasco in Detail: What Was Reported to the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA)
We hope to finish this whole lot within a week, then move on to election, lobbying etc.
Links 05/04/2025: Tariffs Backfiring, YouTuber Arrested, X/Twitter Set to be Fined
Links for the day
Gemini Links 05/04/2025: Offline is For Everyone, Copyright Colonialism, and More
Links for the day
Links 05/04/2025: TikTok Unsold (Still), Royal Society is Dead
Links for the day
Techrights Will Spend the Next Few Years Writing a Lot About Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs)
It's a growing problem
The State of EPO Staff's Health in Rijswijk or The Hague
We're going to cover the EPO some more later in the month
NVIDIA Corp Lost 36% of Its "Value" Since Cheeto Inauguration, But "Gen Hey Hi" (GenAI) is Totally Not a Bubble
Selling loads of unneeded hardware based on hysterical hype; like selling shovels during a Gold Rush
GNU/Linux Growing in East Asia, Windows by Default No More?
GNU/Linux is now on the shelf
Slopwatch: Anti-Linux 'Articles' From Linux-Hostile LLMs
It is almost always negative things and nobody can be held responsible for it except the charlatans prompting the LLMs
Links 05/04/2025: Fentanylware (TikTok) "Sale Looks Highly Imminent" (US), Stock Market Drowning in Panic
Links for the day
Gemini Links 05/04/2025: Moving Plants, No to Smartwatches, RAID Hygiene
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, April 04, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, April 04, 2025