advantages of SUSE over ubuntu?

[galvatron1983]

Ive been a reader of Distrowatch ever since I first got into Linux over a year and a half ago. SUSE consistently places second beneath Ubuntu in its most page hits chart. Im just wondering why. This chart is a pretty good indication of what the most popular distros are (im glad to see Kubuntu in the top 20! :D ), but why is SUSE so popular, Ive never used it myself.

What are the differences and advantages if any??

[Adamant1988]

Novell seems to put a lot of effort into developing new, and interesting things to make the linux desktop more usable. One of their biggest selling points is that you can buy a professional looking boxed set from them right on their site, with excellent written documentation. However, there is really nothing feature wise that you can find in Suse that won't be found in other distributions if it's worth looking at.

I'm a *huge* fan of the changes they've made to the program menus in KDE and Gnome, and I'm glad to see my other favorite distros implimenting them, or at least making them easily obtainable.

But really, Suse is a great distro with professional support offerings that come with their OpenSuse boxed set, and past that there really aren't any obvious benefits from using it. It seems like Novell is leading in "innovation" or what have you, a lot of their artwork designs, features, and programs have found their way into other distributions strictly by how useful or well done those things are.

That's my opinion at least.

[pain of salvation]

Well, I think openSUSE 10.2 is more stable than Ubuntu 6.10. Also it has a more professional look & feel, and it is easy to use.

[Adamant1988]

Well, I think openSUSE 10.2 is more stable than Ubuntu 6.10. Also it has a more professional look & feel, and it is easy to use.

I haven't had the pleasure of using 10.2, tell me, is everyone still installing SMART first thing or has the built in package manager become sufficient? I know it's been a never ending source of trouble since 10.0

[kazuya]

It never installed fine for me. Well, I am refering to Opensuse 10.2 dvd install. It failed for me at install and was not good at picking up other already installed distros. Ubuntu or Mint did this much easily for me.

[dtruesdale]

I use Suse for servers, one main reason they have a control panel that makes things similiar in familarity. Setting up DNS servers in SUSE is a snap (graphical interface) where every other distro wants command line. You have people who won't use linux because it's not familiar, SUSE had made it close. Other than that I use Ubuntu (Kubuntu) on all my workstations and laptops and would even run servers (mail and web) if the tools where there so I could let a windows admin admin the box without calling me every 5 minutes. Most of my mail servers are SUSE with Axigen, Axigen will run on Ubuntu. It requires DNS, setup from command line is not an issue but with a windows admin it may be a task. I think Ubuntu wil be there soon enough so I can use one Distro for everything.

[frank05]

When I tried SUSE (i believe it was version 10.1) the package manager was atrocious (it took way too long to start). I use ubuntu/debian for everything.

[galvatron1983]

Having read all the posts I cant find a compelling reason to replace ubuntu with SUSE. I might give the live DVD a try and see how things go....

[pain of salvation]

The package manager on version 10.1 was really broken, but I think they fixed it on version 10.2. I don't use smart, just use Yast and ZenWorks, they are working fine...

[Adamant1988]

The package manager on version 10.1 was really broken, but I think they fixed it on version 10.2. I don't use smart, just use Yast and ZenWorks, they are working fine...

Yeah, I can remember on 10.1 I spent 10 minutes installing opera from disk...

[_simon_]

Having read all the posts I cant find a compelling reason to replace ubuntu with SUSE. I might give the live DVD a try and see how things go....

Definitely give the live DVD a try and boot KDE (it has GNOME & KDE on the DVD).

[ichigo]

I'm a *huge* fan of the changes they've made to the program menus in KDE and Gnome, and I'm glad to see my other favorite distros implimenting them, or at least making them easily obtainable.

I've tried OpenSuse's program menu at my universities computers and liked it. I was wondering, if there's a way to have them in ubuntu.
Could you tell me what to install/if there's a howto for it?:) thx!

[Adamant1988]

I've tried OpenSuse's program menu at my universities computers and liked it. I was wondering, if there's a way to have them in ubuntu.
Could you tell me what to install/if there's a howto for it?:) thx!

I know that the SLED menu was ported to Ubuntu (not with ALL functionality though) some time ago, as I used it. Not sure about "Kickoff" (The new KDE menu)

[ichigo]

thx for your prompt reply! Now I know what to look for...

[_simon_]

I know that the SLED menu was ported to Ubuntu (not with ALL functionality though) some time ago, as I used it. Not sure about "Kickoff" (The new KDE menu)

Unfortunately the link is currently down but here:

http://forum.beryl-project.org/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=421&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

When i tried it, it was slower than on SuSe and also shorter and fatter.

[Adamant1988]

No, it was before beryl even got nearly as huge as it is today (I was actually very surprised to see how popular it had become when I returned to the communities). There were a number of developers porting the code to make it work in Ubuntu in their free time. I can't remember names though, I'm sure a quick forum search for "SLED 10" would yield some answers, but I'm not that interested to be honest.

[_simon_]

It's not the beryl guys who have done it, it's just that's where I found the HOWTO and link to the deb for it.

The link was for the Kickoff menu.

[ichigo]

http://forum.beryl-project.org/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=421&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

Since I use Gnome, I was actually thinking of something like http://shots.linuxquestions.org/original/openSUSE%2010.2/28.gif...

[_simon_]

Since I use Gnome, I was actually thinking of something like http://shots.linuxquestions.org/original/openSUSE%2010.2/28.gif...

Here you go:

Slab Menu (http://angelicpenguins.blogspot.com/2006/07/sled-menu-for-ubuntu-uslab-now-in-repo_14.html)

Ubuntu System Panel (USP) - Stable (http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=229014)

USP2 Alpha (http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=331364)

I have links to these on my site as well - http://www.violet-rain.info

[Adamant1988]

Here you go:

Slab Menu (http://angelicpenguins.blogspot.com/2006/07/sled-menu-for-ubuntu-uslab-now-in-repo_14.html)

Ubuntu System Panel (USP) - Stable (http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=229014)

USP2 Alpha (http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=331364)

I have links to these on my site as well - http://www.violet-rain.info

ah, the SLAB, that's what it's called! I forgot that.

[SunnyRabbiera]

SUSE is now owned by microsoft...
not much of an advantage though :p

[Rodneyck]

If you are running Ubuntu, you can get Slab through Automatrix2. It's nice. I have used it in the past, but I prefer to see all my icons at once instead of grouped and displayed in sections, just a personal thing.

I really liked the similar menu system (not sure if that is a Suse's thing or not) for KDE. Sabayonlinux uses it on their live DVD, but it is not Sabayon's app. I don't know what they call that one. If I were to go to a menu system, I would want it to be like that which is more animated and visually better IMO and not a complete rib off of Vista's menu.

[Adamant1988]

SUSE is now owned by microsoft...


So?

[Rodneyck]

Here's an good interview...

Interview with openSUSE project leader, Andreas Jaeger

Wow. What a year 2006 turned out to be for Novell. In case you're not familiar with the Microsoft/Novell deal, let me give you a brief overview. Sometime in 2006, Novell's CEO contacted Microsoft in order to reach an agreement to work together for the betterment of Linux and Windows software. Novell engaged in amazing legal maneuvering to exploit loopholes in the current version of the Gnu Public License to enter into this deal without losing their rights to product a Linux operating system. Many people in the community cried "Foul!" and there was much gnashing of teeth/wringing of hands. Even though the collaboration with Microsoft doesn't violate the GPLv2, the Free Software Foundation is working diligently on v3 to prevent deals like this from happening in the future.

openSUSE is Novell's free "community" distribution and one of the key project leaders, Andreas Jaeger, sat down and talked about Microsoft, Linux and where the MS deal is taking SUSE. More...

http://www.openaddict.com/interview_with_andreas_jaeger.html

[_simon_]

MS doesn't own SUSE.

MS has a technical / patent / business cooperation with Novell.

This blog should explain things better than I could:

http://andreasjaeger.blogspot.com/2006/11/opensuse-and-microsoft.html

[kazuya]

I see Ubuntu as a more robust product and polished in my opinion. This may just be my preference. Suse 10.2 was fine for me. It worked just like linspire and looked like that more so than Ubuntu.

It is all right, but I have already replaced it with Sabayon 3.26 now. Ubuntu is my next target once Fiesty gets released.

[Adamant1988]

I see Ubuntu as a more robust product and polished in my opinion. This may just be my preference. Suse 10.2 was fine for me. It worked just like linspire and looked like that more so than Ubuntu.

It is all right, but I have already replaced it with Sabayon 3.26 now. Ubuntu is my next target once Fiesty gets released.

Well, I suppose the difference between KDE and Gnome would have helped nurture that feeling, haha.

[pain of salvation]

In my opinion, Ubuntu is NO WAY more polished than openSUSE 10.2.

[uNmentaLogic]

If you are running Ubuntu, you can get Slab through Automatrix2. It's nice. I have used it in the past, but I prefer to see all my icons at once instead of grouped and displayed in sections, just a personal thing.

I really liked the similar menu system (not sure if that is a Suse's thing or not) for KDE. Sabayonlinux uses it on their live DVD, but it is not Sabayon's app. I don't know what they call that one. If I were to go to a menu system, I would want it to be like that which is more animated and visually better IMO and not a complete rib off of Vista's menu.

I thought the new KDE kicker menu was part of 3.5.5, PC-BSD has the same type of menu too.

[Adamant1988]

Novell developed it, but it doesn't shock me at all that it would have become included in KDE... it's an amazing menu.

[uNmentaLogic]

Novell developed it, but it doesn't shock me at all that it would have become included in KDE... it's an amazing menu.
That was one of the reasons why I started using 10.2 when it came out.

[Adamant1988]

That was one of the reasons why I started using 10.2 when it came out.

Yeah, I wanted to use 10.0 when it released, unfortunately Yast was the deal breaker, I loved the system but I couldn't get updates or anything.

[_mrv]

Hi,

I installed OpenSUSE 10.2 couple of days ago and really liked the new menu. Also most of the settings were easily available in the control center (I used Gnome desktop).

However, the package management was a nightmare. I have previously used Gentoo and Ubuntu and they both have very good package manager, but SUSE...no way, I think I'm going to install Edgy back on my computer.

Also boot time seems to be lot slower on OpenSUSE than on Ubuntu, but that is basically non-issue since I don't reboot very often. Might be issue on laptop computers, I guess.

Can somebody confirm that Automatix2 can install working SLAB on Edgy?

_mrv

[SEWi]

hello every one. is any body using the 64 bit? I am . horibbbbble packege maneger,slow boot time, glitchy online, great kde, and all in all not bad not good ether .

ubuntu-3
opensuse-1

[stokedfish]

Yast.

[karellen]

the only advantage I see is that the kde version is better integrated and looks more polished. but I dislike what they've done with gnome :D

[Quillz]

Ive been a reader of Distrowatch ever since I first got into Linux over a year and a half ago. SUSE consistently places second beneath Ubuntu in its most page hits chart. Im just wondering why. This chart is a pretty good indication of what the most popular distros are (im glad to see Kubuntu in the top 20! :D ), but why is SUSE so popular, Ive never used it myself.

What are the differences and advantages if any??
From my personal experience, openSUSE has always seemed to work better with my hardware out of the box. It also includes some additional non-free codecs and whatnot that tend to make it more multimedia-friendly than Ubuntu without any additional customization.

Beyond that, I find them quite similar. openSUSE uses RPM, but it's really no different from DEB, at least for what I need them for. They also offer more or less the same packages and software applications, although presented differently.

If there is one thing I really like about openSUSE, it's the unique K Menu. I really like how they managed to integrate Beagle into the K Menu's Control Center. This is something I'd love to see in a future release of Kubuntu, if at all possible.

[darksong]

I haven't had the pleasure of using 10.2, tell me, is everyone still installing SMART first thing or has the built in package manager become sufficient? I know it's been a never ending source of trouble since 10.0

I have disabled ZEN and i have been using Yast with Packman and Guru repositories - it seems fast enough, maybe a little slower than sanaptic but it still does a good job of it - it gets all the dependentcys ect.

[X86]

I don't know what to think everyone seems to have their own experience with Suse and Ubuntu I have Suse 10.2 but never tried it I like Ubuntu a lot everything is working fine and this forum is a real nut job and I'm enjoying it as well. So I'm going to ask this question.

Is the security better in Suse 10.2 then Ubuntu Edgy 6.10
what do you all think?

[karellen]

suse offers a better desktop experience imo, looks more polished

[igknighted]

I don't know what to think everyone seems to have their own experience with Suse and Ubuntu I have Suse 10.2 but never tried it I like Ubuntu a lot everything is working fine and this forum is a real nut job and I'm enjoying it as well. So I'm going to ask this question.

Is the security better in Suse 10.2 then Ubuntu Edgy 6.10
what do you all think?

By default? Yes. Suse has the apparmour suite installed by default. But Ubuntu could be made more secure too. Basically, if you want security make a really strong root password. In Ubuntu, make a really hard to guess username and a strong password. If you do these two things and keep up to date, you will almost definitely never have a security issue. Sure AppArmour and SELinux improve security, but in the real world it is excessive. Be smart, and you will be fine.

[X86]

igknighted
hey thanks a bunch I use password ageing but I change them manually I set a new unix password as well as my log in. thanks for the info.

[X86]

I will never ask that question anymore this is the 2ed time I ask this and nothing good came out of it I don't see what is the big deal

[dca]

...loading and saving config in YaST is panifully slow and adding software, etc. I would never run openSuSE 10.2 on a production server. SLES on the other hand, but who wants to pay for support (maybe MS will give me a freebie coupon) when we shell out so much to pay Linux admins on site.

Although, the desktops for both KDE & GNOME are incredible. I've never seen a distro w/ such a crisp/clean display.

This will start a war, but, remove YaST and install Synaptic and it'd be a darn good system...

[Marc_UK]

I would say it looks better a crosss between XP and Viista.

The disadvantages are its bloated and slow.

[darkenedday]

I would say it looks better a crosss between XP and Viista.

The disadvantages are its bloated and slow.

runs faster on my machines than ubuntu edgy, and alot less errors, edgy is truly an "edgy" release

the look tops just about any distro I've used, kickoff is AWESOME, YAST is slow, but it is a good tool, and they're working with the speed issue, wouldn't be supsrised to see it fixed in 10.3 final, right now just remove it and install smart, personally i prefer smart to synaptic, it's awesome and fast
I suppose it could be bloated to a minimalist however it gives you a decent amount of popular options up front, on the install you can select if you don't want them, but it makes sure new users have the ability to easily try out different apps, like say opera vs. firefox vs. konqueror, newer users wouldn't really know what to look at first and may just stick with the default and never know that opera might fit them better than firefox. really there isn't a whole lot of extra stuff that's just "fluf" and of course anything you deem unecessary, just uncheck on install or deleted later

overall:
suse vs ubuntu
looks: suse (ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL, this is little debated, suse is a very good looking distro)
speed: this is debated (some people say suse is faster others ubuntu)
choice: suse (see above)
slim: ubuntu (ubuntu is lighter weight by default)
security: suse (apparmor etc.)
ease of use: suse (very ergonomic)
innovation: suse (like it or not novell and suse bring alot to the linux world)

and personally I prefer RPM to DEB (theres more rpm's out on the web than debs, and the dependancy issues some find aren't due to flaws in RPM, it's due to flaws in the packaging setup in the OS, such as mandriva, one app may be in a repo, but the dependancies in a repo you don't have, this mistake could be made on any system not just rpm's)

hope my input helped

[wrycatcher]

After reading several threads on this topic, the meta-data seems to indicate no clear winners in the following categories:

1) performance
2) ease-of-use
3) package management
4) indemnity pacts
5) drivers & hardware support

However, there was a clear winner in some other categories

Suse
1) professional-look
2) better implementation of KDE
3) stability
4) best of breed default applications

Ubuntu
1) faster installation
2) leaner, less "bloat"
3) online forums/support community

Does that seem about right...anyone want to contest (perhaps with some anecdotal experience) or perhaps add anything?

DISCLAIMER: I've never tried Suse (or OpenSuse) myself. My Linux experience is limited to an early Red Hat release, and more-recently DSL, Fluxbuntu, and my current installation Ubuntu Edgy, with which I'm mostly content.

[rai4shu2]

Suse is a lot older than Ubuntu. I think everyone can get behind that.

[igknighted]

After reading several threads on this topic, the meta-data seems to indicate no clear winners in the following categories:

1) performance
2) ease-of-use
3) package management
4) indemnity pacts
5) drivers & hardware support

However, there was a clear winner in some other categories

Suse
1) professional-look
2) better implementation of KDE
3) stability
4) best of breed default applications

Ubuntu
1) faster installation
2) leaner, less "bloat"
3) online forums/support community

Does that seem about right...anyone want to contest (perhaps with some anecdotal experience) or perhaps add anything?

DISCLAIMER: I've never tried Suse (or OpenSuse) myself. My Linux experience is limited to an early Red Hat release, and more-recently DSL, Fluxbuntu, and my current installation Ubuntu Edgy, with which I'm mostly content.

Suse points:
1) VERY true, Ubuntu looks make me question its viability as a "linux for the masses". I think only KDE could pull it off as gnome is very ugly anyway, but Ubuntu's "human" theme does it no justice.

2) Also true, Kubuntu can be made into a great distro, but the "one app, one task" philosophy of Ubuntu doesn't jive with the overlapping applications of KDE.

3) Meh, this is a toss-up. Ubuntu tends to be really stable too.

4) Agreed, but only because I like KDE apps better. I haven't really looked at the gnome install of Suse, so I can't really compare.

Ubuntu points:
1) Install is indeed faster, but I hate the Ubuntu install due to the complete lack of configurability. Point to Suse for usability. You only install once, who cares how long it takes. Give me the options to tune my install, don't just dump it all on there.

2) Again, if you accept all defaults suse can feel bloated. But I can do a Suse install that is way more slim than Ubuntu, because I can choose exactly what apps/libs get installed. You just gotta dig deeper. The install DVD does this SOOOO SLOOWW for Suse, I will give you that. It checks dependencies way to often IMO, if it just did it at the end it wouldnt be an issue. But, slow is better than not at all in Ubuntu's case.

3) Online support... well, I stay here even though I have ditched my Ubuntu install, that says something. But Ubuntu's Forums are just "fun". I have found that any support past really basic stuff is hard to get. Most higher-end users move on to other distro's, and there is such a flood of newbs in here (not saying thats a bad thing, but it does mean that they drown out more difficult questions). Suseforums are pretty bad tho. I've never really been able to get into them, and you do wait a while for a response. Given the choice between the two, Ubuntu wins.

Other points:
Package Manager... Yast sucks, but Smart is awesome. You need to install it yourself (its not default), but it rocks. You can also install apt if you want. I feel the same way about Ubuntu. Apt is nice, but like the installer lacks options. In fact I hear Ubuntu will switch to Smart as default soon. You can also install smart on Ubuntu now too.

Corporate/Paid Support... Suse wins hands down here.

Overall...
I would recommend Suse to a new user, but after some linux experience is gathered, they will likely find the Yast tools they used to love clunky, and when that happens, Ubuntu is the place to be.

(Actually, I think I would recommend PCLOS or SAM to new users, and then Fedora or some other intermediate distro after that, but those weren't choices on the poll :))

[mech7]

I have not used OpenSUSE allot yet, but it does seem more stable and finished then ubuntu.

[dca]

Hmmm, wait a minute the big pros/cons thing is missing something. Don't forget when you bring up SuSE, are you talking about openSuSE or SLED/SLES? I don't run openSuSE on anything mission critical. One time it locked up after first reboot after installation and it was a text install. Now don't get me wrong, I don't buy complete workstations anymore, I build them from spare parts and the ones I built for my parents, wife, oldest nephew all run openSuSE because the KDE is that good. Now, on all the stuff I use, laptop, servers, etc I stick w/ the Ubuntu LTS releases.

[kazuya]

Suse is nice. I tried suse 10.2, but rpm-based distros, pclinuxos2007 would clean house. Ubuntu to me is much better in the sesnse that it is faster in my experience than Suse on the same hardware.

Installation is easier now especially with Feisty.
Synaptic creams yast anyday for package management - I prefer debs over rpms
Community Support - Way better in Ubuntu than Suse
Lokk-wise - I personally prefer ubuntu's look to suse.- Look at the gallery section to confirm this statement.
http://ubuntuforums.org/g/index.php?n=229
http://ubuntuforums.org/g/index.php?n=135
http://ubuntuforums.org/g/index.php?n=123

[igknighted]

Suse is nice. I tried suse 10.2, but rpm-based distros, pclinuxos2007 would clean house. Ubuntu to me is much better in the sesnse that it is faster in my experience than Suse on the same hardware.

Installation is easier now especially with Feisty.
Synaptic creams yast anyday for package management - I prefer debs over rpms
Community Support - Way better in Ubuntu than Suse
Lokk-wise - I personally prefer ubuntu's look to suse.- Look at the gallery section to confirm this statement.
http://ubuntuforums.org/g/index.php?n=229
http://ubuntuforums.org/g/index.php?n=135
http://ubuntuforums.org/g/index.php?n=123

Thats not default, so theres no point in going down that road... Suse could be made to look exactly the same as all of those too. The point is that out of the box, Suse has a distinct professional feel that you do not get with Ubuntu.

Good points on the .debs, although while I like the package I'm not an apt fan. I think once rpm development cracks up again as it is starting to its gonna be 6 of one half a dozen of another... although hopefully they will ditch both soon in favor of something common. As far as package management gui's go I think thats a ridiculous argument, any frontent can be used... its the backend that is important. And to be honest, adept is a much nicer tool than synaptic... you can't beat the live search.

Ubuntu's install has always been easy, but I think it is still lacking in customizeability. I hate installers that just dump their contents on your hard drive. Look at Suse, or Fedora, or Slack, or even Debian I think (although I've never done a Debian install with their installer). These installers are just as easy, but give you total command. At least an option on the Ubuntu installer to select packages would be nice. Its such a pain to go through and delete crap i don't want like OO.o and evolution when I could just deselect it from the install list.

All this said, like I stated above... Suse is better for newbs and is more likely to impress a new user. But Ubuntu is a more usable system because the yast toolset gets in the way of advanced users, so I think Ubuntu is a decent next step.

[wrycatcher]

Great stuff igknighted. You last couple points made me think of something I wrote yesterday, in another thread: "No OS is a panacea."

[RedDwarf]

Good points on the .debs, although while I like the package I'm not an apt fan. I think once rpm development cracks up again as it is starting to its gonna be 6 of one half a dozen of another... although hopefully they will ditch both soon in favor of something common.
What's the problem with RPM? Up to where I know (I'm not an expert, and less in debs), the differences betwen debs and rpms are:
1- RPMs can depend on files and packages, DEBs can only depend on packages.
2- RPMs can only "depend", DEBs can depend, recommend, and suggest.
3- DEBs can depend on packetA OR packetB, so if just have one of them there is enough. RPMs can't do this, they just can depend on packetA, depend on packetB, or depend on packetA AND packetB.

So, the first is important but you can live without it. The third is pretty important, RPM should have it. And the second... well, there is a patch to add this to RPM, but I don't think is something vey usefull.
So in my opinion the "OR depends" thing makes DEB better than RPM... but isn't something really sooooooooooo important. There is any other differency between them?? At really the difference is so little that I prefer RPMs just because I know the rpm command line better.

[igknighted]

What's the problem with RPM? Up to where I know (I'm not an expert, and less in debs), the differences betwen debs and rpms are:
1- RPMs can depend on files and packages, DEBs can only depend on packages.
2- RPMs can only "depend", DEBs can depend, recommend, and suggest.
3- DEBs can depend on packetA OR packetB, so if just have one of them there is enough. RPMs can't do this, they just can depend on packetA, depend on packetB, or depend on packetA AND packetB.

So, the first is important but you can live without it. The third is pretty important, RPM should have it. And the second... well, there is a patch to add this to RPM, but I don't think is something vey usefull.
So in my opinion the "OR depends" thing makes DEB better than RPM... but isn't something really sooooooooooo important. There is any other differency between them?? At really the difference is so little that I prefer RPMs just because I know the rpm command line better.

RPMs aren't bad, contrary to what you hear on this forum. But as a whole, the people who manage RPMs aren't as good as the debian guys. And thats the difference. It has nothing to do with the technical merits, but if you are using openSuse or Fedora (my fav distro) you tend to use 3rd party repos which can lead to trouble if you aren't careful. Debian/Ubuntu have almost everything you need in the default repo's, which saves a lot of trouble. I'm with you personally, I like Fedora's Yum of Apt any day... but the overall collection of .deb packages is better maintained than .rpm, tho like i said, the .rpm folks are stepping up to the plate to deal with this.

[kazuya]

Thats not default, so theres no point in going down that road... Suse could be made to look exactly the same as all of those too. The point is that out of the box, Suse has a distinct professional feel that you do not get with Ubuntu.

Good points on the .debs, although while I like the package I'm not an apt fan. I think once rpm development cracks up again as it is starting to its gonna be 6 of one half a dozen of another... although hopefully they will ditch both soon in favor of something common. As far as package management gui's go I think thats a ridiculous argument, any frontent can be used... its the backend that is important. And to be honest, adept is a much nicer tool than synaptic... you can't beat the live search.

Ubuntu's install has always been easy, but I think it is still lacking in customizeability. I hate installers that just dump their contents on your hard drive. Look at Suse, or Fedora, or Slack, or even Debian I think (although I've never done a Debian install with their installer). These installers are just as easy, but give you total command. At least an option on the Ubuntu installer to select packages would be nice. Its such a pain to go through and delete crap i don't want like OO.o and evolution when I could just deselect it from the install list.

All this said, like I stated above... Suse is better for newbs and is more likely to impress a new user. But Ubuntu is a more usable system because the yast toolset gets in the way of advanced users, so I think Ubuntu is a decent next step.


I guess to each their own. I never liked the Suse's look as much as I did Ubuntu's. That is subjective ofcourse. I would not say Suse is more for newbs than Ubuntu. I found openSuse 10.2 harder to install than Ubuntu. Where Suse may be easier is that it goes through the reboot after install just like windows. In addition, it has way too many options or questions in its installation steps that a newbie may be confused about... e.g., It was asking DHCP or IP config prior to install step. Whereas in Ubuntu, network is already configured for you and ready to go...

Lacking in Ubuntu was not having root enabled by default for administrative functions. This is easily remedied ofcourse after install..

Feisty is even easier to install and get going now than before. Also, I do not mind OO there. There are a lot more other bloated stuff that gets added on openSuse than in Ubuntu which comes in just a CD and one desktop environment.

I also feel more ease in configuring my Ubuntu install than Suse.. This is just me ofcourse. Suse does have a nice kde desktop though... But comparing their gnome desktops, I prefer Ubuntu.

[jmore9]

Hello there!

I have used SUSE 9.3 , 10.0, and 10.2 and i would say that 10.0 is the best one, 9.3 second best and 10.2 don't bother. As far as Ubuntu 7.04 and Kubuntu 7.04 they (in my opinion) both beat out suse and fedora in the install , upgrading, and general use. I had Kubuntu 7.04 up and running in about 40 minutes with almost all multimedia that i use. Takes a while longer to get SUSE to that point. just mu thoughts

jemor9:)

[galvatron1983]

Wow, wasnt expectin this thread to go the distance! :)

[MRiGnS]

http://www.infoworld.com/slideshow/2007/01/29-2007_technology-7.html

[strungoutfan78]

I just recently migrated from openSuse 10.2 to kubuntu feisty and it has made a world of difference. What does suse have that other distros don't? It surely isn't technical help resources. It surely isn't it's bloated installation or memory hogging. The only advantage that I can see in openSuSE is that pretty much anyone, even a monkey, should be able to install it fairly easily (although it might take about 4-5 hours, but that's besides the point, right?). Oh yeah, it's also got a great look and feel, although i think all the menu implementations and gui stuff is part of what weighs down the system as a whole.

All in all, I really don't think openSuSE has anything to offer as far as functionality over any other distro out there.

If you're thinking about losing ubuntu for openSuSE, i advise to think again. I just made the trek in the opposite direction and I tell you that I will never look back. There's my 2 pennies.;)

[ThinkBuntu]

I've been through my fair share of distros (15+) and as a long-time Ubuntu user, I've now switched over to openSuSE. While it's a bit slower, I easily gain back that time with the productivity enhancements (YaST for configuration, the SUSE KMenu, the specialized SysInfo window, etc.). openSuSE may not have the advantage of being based on Debian, but they're really focused on innovation whereas it seems Ubuntu is focused on market share. Recently I caught a press report that openSuSE devs have been challenged to get the system to boot in only 5 seconds, and they're taking it seriously. Do you see this in Ubuntu?

[itsjustarumour]

I started my Linux adventure with openSUSE in February last year, and although I've been using mainly Ubuntu for 8 months I'm still fond of it. openSUSE 10.0 was great, package management was a total disaster in 10.1 (even after they remastered the whole distro and re-released it), and then with 10.2 I had all sorts of weird installation/partitioning problems and gave up there (these were probably due to my own mistakes though!) But I've always found their hardware support to be second-to-none, and their attention to detail with the little things like configuration of Firefox plugins to be a huge help too. Its also great that they genuinely provide full support for both Gnome AND KDE, and the whole lot has been very, very stable. I know they've been getting a bit of flak recently over their MS tie-in, but they've brought a lot of innovations to the Linux community with their work on things like usability, menus and their support for Compiz, and these are all things that filter through to benefit other distros. :-)

Anyhoo - I'm really looking forward to the release of openSUSE 10.3 at the end of October. After the beating they've had over package management it seems as if they're taking a little longer than normal before releasing the new version, which will have many big changes - (some) KDE4, Oxygen default icon set, Xorg 7.3 (hopefully!) and simplified package management (they've dropped the troublesome ZEN to concentrate on YaST and lipzypp) :-D

[j.miller565]

Recently I caught a press report that openSuSE devs have been challenged to get the system to boot in only 5 seconds, and they're taking it seriously. Do you see this in Ubuntu?

It would be pretty sweet if it could boot that fast

[Adamant1988]

I've been through my fair share of distros (15+) and as a long-time Ubuntu user, I've now switched over to openSuSE. While it's a bit slower, I easily gain back that time with the productivity enhancements (YaST for configuration, the SUSE KMenu, the specialized SysInfo window, etc.). openSuSE may not have the advantage of being based on Debian, but they're really focused on innovation whereas it seems Ubuntu is focused on market share. Recently I caught a press report that openSuSE devs have been challenged to get the system to boot in only 5 seconds, and they're taking it seriously. Do you see this in Ubuntu?

Ubuntu is in a position where they can't create those kind of innovations. openSuSE has amazing software engineers working on it, supposedly some of the best world-wide, and they have a lot of developers in addition to that. Ubuntu just doesn't have that kind of developer mind-share... Ubuntu takes what others have done, and they use it, and help maintain it because they don't have the time/resources to do it themselves, yet.

[Death_Sargent]

I haven't had the pleasure of using 10.2, tell me, is everyone still installing SMART first thing or has the built in package manager become sufficient? I know it's been a never ending source of trouble since 10.0

ACtually i tested it and found that out of the box hardware support was minimal. It was basically hideous in gnome, and there is alot of installing to do

[ThinkBuntu]

Ubuntu is in a position where they can't create those kind of innovations. openSuSE has amazing software engineers working on it, supposedly some of the best world-wide, and they have a lot of developers in addition to that. Ubuntu just doesn't have that kind of developer mind-share... Ubuntu takes what others have done, and they use it, and help maintain it because they don't have the time/resources to do it themselves, yet.
Come on...Canonical has the $$$ to develop anything they please. I assume they're making money off support, so wouldn't innovation lead to more users, which would lead to more support money? At the very least, Ubuntu could be in the position if Shuttleworth cared for it to.

Also, as a little update, my laptop is just awesome with openSuSE. I have everything up and running properly, and it's pretty snappy. The only problems thus far...when waking from suspend (or a screen lock in general) networkmanager shuts down somehow. This is remedied by $ sudo rcnetwork restart, but on occasion that doesn't do it, and I need to reboot to get wireless back up. This is balanced by how my wireless performance in much improved over any distro I've used in the past. The flash plugin off the repos was faulty and crash FF on Flash-enabled pages, but I just uninstalled it and re-installed the plugin via FF's automated process, and now it works fine.

[kelvin spratt]

Its the name i used 10.2 it took a day to get on the internet i could never get the graphics card to work support was rubbish, Open Office was good, so was parts of the interface to look at,

[igknighted]

Come on...Canonical has the $$$ to develop anything they please. I assume they're making money off support, so wouldn't innovation lead to more users, which would lead to more support money? At the very least, Ubuntu could be in the position if Shuttleworth cared for it to.

Well, Mark has a lot of money, but there is no way Cannonical is even close to being profitable. Maybe they will make some money off of the Dell deal, but the financial future of our commercial backer is very much a concern right now. Cannonical really cannot compare to Novell or Red Hat and have a long way to go to get there. Don't forget, not long ago Mandriva was the darling upstart that dominated the linux scene like nothing else before, and now that they are going bankrupt support for the distro is drying up. Do not be naive and think that Ubuntu is beyond this because it is popular. Cannonical needs to find a way to make money.
</off topic>

Anyhow, Opensuse is a great distro. If you have the ability to download the DVD, it is something that you should try. Not saying you will want to ditch Ubuntu or even like it, but it is a staple distro that anyone should try. I used it briefly but found I liked others better... but I have a great deal of respect for Novell and the openSuse people, they make an awesome distro.

[j.miller565]

Its the name i used 10.2 it took a day to get on the internet i could never get the graphics card to work support was rubbish, Open Office was good, so was parts of the interface to look at,

It is actually very easy to get your graphics card to work. You should check the SUSE Howto
for help with enabling your graphics card.

j.miller565

[mooha]

Yast (specially for New Linux Users) ... everything else (on my opinion) ubuntu is the Best. I love Debian all .DEB
Ubuntu needs it's own Control Center.

[Alexander2007]

The main advantage SUSE has over Ubuntu, in my opinion is polish. SUSE feels more professional.

[Incense]

I really like how a lot of the apps in Suse (at least in SLED) feel more integrated into the OS. OpenOffice, Banshee, and GIMP all have very similar splash screens. I know it's something superficial, but I like the way it feels. Also, OpenOffice is very quick to open on SLED. I believe the Gnome version of OpenSuse is the same way.

[67GTA]

I really liked everything in opensuse except for package management. The installer and professional look and feel are second to none. The package management in opensuse is a joke. It always makes me come back to Kubuntu. If they would fix that, then I think they would climb back up the ladder a couple of rungs. I have often wondered if the people that develop suse's package manager have ever used apt/synaptic.