OpenSuse 12.1 Review

For this OpenSuse 12.1 review I used an Advent 4213 Netbook.

Spec
10.2” widescreen
Intel Atom N270 Processor Running at 1.6GHZ
1GB DDR2 RAM
160GB HDD

Integrated
Integrated Graphics Card
Integrated Webcam
Integrated Bluetooth
Integrated Mobile broadband Modem
Integrated 802.11 b/g Wireless

The review
Installation
The Installation uses the now standard OpenSuse Installer.  There is a slight change to the Installer in OpenSuse 12.1 as there is the choice to use the new btrfs file System.  The btrfs Filesystem has more features available in OpenSuse 12.1 like the Snapper that takes Snapshots of your hard disk (similar to System Restore in Windows), the down side to using the btrfs Filesystem is that you need an ext4 Partition to put the boot files in, in the case of the review machine there is a 38.9GB151.1MB /boot partition formatted in ext4 and a 147.9GB / (Similar to the C Drive in Windows) formatted in btrfs.

There are literally loads of Applications and utilities included with OpenSuse 12.1.  For the review machine I Installed the Microsoft Office Compatible LibreOffice, Mozilla Firefox Web Browser, Mozilla Thunderbird Email Client, gimp Image editor along with Web and Application development Applications and some default utilities and Applications that get Installed as standard.

You have a choice of 3 different desktops to uses.  There is the Windows like KDE Desktop that aesthetically pleasing than the other two with visual affects, Window animations and Desktop widgets, The Gnome Desktop Environment this is a little bland and ugly compared to KDE but is perfect if your system isn't up to running KDE, then there is the minimalist XFCE Desktop that is suited to low end machines or for anyone that doesn't like too much desktop clutter, there are also some minor desktops that I don't know that much about.  For the review machine I chose to use KDE.

All the hardware of the review machine works out of the box, and I can't see why it won't work with other hardware in other Desktop, Laptop or Notebooks as well as external Hardware like Bluetooth or Mobile broadband Dongles.

Conclusion
OpenSuse is a serious competitor to Microsoft Windows as it can be downloaded off of the OpenSuse website for free (opensuse.org)and comes in both 32 and 64bit versions.

OpenSuse 11.4 Milestone 6 Review

The Installation process of OpenSuse 11.4 M6 is the same as the Installation process of OpenSuse 11.2 and OpenSuse 11.3 with the exception of that once the Installer boots into the graphical Installer you get a warning message about being about to Install a Beta version, other than that it is the bog standard Installer from previous versions of OpenSuse and even the later versions of Suse Linux.

After using OpenSuse 11.4 M6 for a few minuets it's very stable for a release that is currentlya Developer release that is not ment to be used in a production environment.

Everything works as it should, there are a few bugs that need ironing out.  I'm really looking forward to trying the Release Candadate when it is released on Febuary the 10th.

KDE 4.6 RC 2 is very stable for a Release candidate, it still has the odd bug, but KDE 4.4 and 4.5 Final have always had the odd little bug that you don't always get but can popup now and again.  KDE 4.6 looks more stylish than the previous versions of KDE 4, the KDE Taskbar has got a little Mac OSX/ Windows 7 style polish to it with more modern looking system tray icons.

I'll do a pretty full review of OpenSuse 11.4 when the Release Candidate(s) are releaed,and I'll do a fullin depth review once OpenSuse 11.4 Final is released.

Roland

OpenSuse 11.4 Milestone 6 Released

With the announcement that OpenSuse 11.4 has hit Milestone 6 I thought that I would start a series of posts on penSuse 11.4 M6.

The OpenSuse 11.4 Portal can be found here, the openSuse 11.4 M6 press release can be found here and finally the OpenSuse 11.4 M6 iso can be downloaded from here.

The big news with OpenSuse 11.4 is that it will include KDE 4.6.0, this is a welcomed addition as OpenSuse 11.3 was supposed to include KDE 4.5 but it never made it into the release and it had to be installed as a software update that  could never get to work properly.

OpenSuse 11.4 M6 is availablee to download now from, OpenSuse 11.4  RC1 is scheduled for release on 02/10/11 and the final release is scheduled for release in March.

Once My download allowance resets on 02/03/11 I'll download 11.4 M6 and install it on my Netbook so watch this space for a full review of openSuse 11.4 M6 soon. In the mean time visit the OpenSuse 11.4 Portal and download the OpenSuse 11.4 M6 iso and create your very own OpenSuse 11.4 M6 DVD and try out this release of OpenSuse.

In the meantime feel free to talk about everything relating to in the OpenSuse 11.4 M6 thread in my forum

Roland