OpenSUSE 10.1

My laptop hard disk has died as expected. After Dell sent a replacement, I decided to take this opportunity and try switching to openSUSE from Ubuntu. I had heard that it was solid, but slow. Also, I wanted to try the XGL effects which are integrated into openSUSE pretty well.

So off I went to look for the installation media. Here's the website for Novell's OpenSUSE:
http://www.opensuse.org
By the way, SUSE is pronounced as soo-za.

It turns out SUSE requires no less than 4 CDs to install. This put me off a bit and I had to install Ubuntu on my system first so I had something to use. Ubuntu only requires 1 CD. Anyway, I opted to download the DVD iso via bittorrent. What I found out was the download speed I can achieve sucks. Unless you download in the morning. I could reach speeds of up to 200kB/s (limited by my broadband speed) when I got up at 7+am to set up my download. Took me 2 mornings to get the iso.

So, once the disc was burned, it was on to installation!

Not all live CDs I've tried so far are able to boot and detect the DBus DVD drive on my Latitude D400, so I was a bit apprehensive. But I'm happy to report that SUSE booted just fine and proceeded to present me with install options like language and time zone, etc. It's not text based, and it's very easy to use. The only problem I can see people having with this is common to all linux installations. The partitioning of the hard disk. Of course you can just wipe the whole hard disk and install.

My system was already set up for dual boot between Ubuntu and Windows XP. The installer detected this and recommended I format and install on my existing Ubuntu partition. At least the installer has some intelligence to recommend how to partition. I thought it was very nice. And if you decide to use your own partitioning, you can enter the "Expert" mode.

The installation took about 30 minutes to copy needed files to the hard disk, and then rebooted the machine. Once booted, it will proceed to set up other configurations like network and graphics. Unfortunately, mine hung when I was trying out different graphics resolutions. The "Test" option did not return from a black screen after a few minutes and I had to force a reboot. SUSE started up fine after that but I suspect it affected my sound card installation and I had to subsequently use the Yast software to re-install my sound card. Thankfully this was just a matter of a few mouse clicks.

Finally we get to the OS proper itself. I was a bit disappointed to find that there was no boot splash. Either that or it was unable to support the feature on my D400. I know Ubuntu had no problems with this...

The OS comes packaged with quite an impressive array of applications. It comes with the requisite Firefox/Konqueror web browser, and openOffice.org. On top of that it throws in packages like Planner, for project management needs, Dia and Inkscape, as well as Liferea and Blam.

My initial impression of the whole system was that response did seem a bit sticky at times, e.g. web pages not drawing fast enough when I scroll. But it's no biggie. It could be because I enabled 3D desktop effects (XGL/compiz). Which brings me to the other point. When I enabled 3D Desktop Effects, the control center applet warned that my integrated video card is supported but might be slow. However, the transparencies, wobbly windows and other 3D effects work very well without much visible slowness. Overall I'm pleased with the performance, and I can't wait to show off the eye candy. :)

On to updating. I tried update/patch the system last night. Although it didn't take very long, it was much longer and a bit more involved than what an update in Ubuntu would take. It also doesn't seem as easy to use. The software update icon in the GNOME panel does not seem to function properly for me. I encountered errors during update until I decided to dismiss the icon and manually initiate an online update from Yast (btw, they should really rename this. The name is not intuitive). Other than that, the patches and updates went smoothly enough.

Well, it's only day 2 of my SUSE experience so I don't want everything to seem negative. I can only compare it to Ubuntu. Although not as fast, I do love the fact that it is a more polished product. And a lot of the software comes well-integrated. I'm still having fun wobbling my windows. One point I forgot to mention during installation was that it will ask you if you wish to install GNOME or KDE as your desktop. For me, I chose GNOME and my opinions are all based on the GNOME installation. Overall, SUSE is a competent desktop and certainly can stand up as a Windows replacement candidate. Novell has a good product in SUSE Linux.