Ubuntu and OpenSuse - my experience

[johann_p]

I have just built a new computer -- Intel 965 mainboard with Core2 Dual processor, NVidia 7600 graphics card, SATA hard disks and PATA DVD wirter.

I first tried to install Ubuntu Edgy and found out the hard way that it doesn't install because it does not support the chipset for the PATA-attached DVD.

I finally succeeded to install a recent nightly of Feisty.

I also installed OpenSuse10.2 from the DVD -- not a problem at all, no problem with the DVD.

I also wanted to configure the Wacom graphics tablet:
This was xtremely easy in OpenSuse, there is a separate configuration option for graphic tablets and tablet PCs .. I selected my tablet and configured my pens and everything worked like a charm

With Ubuntu I needed to manually hack the xorg.conf file.

I also wanted to configure the Hauppauge graphics card I put in after the installation.
Extremely easy in OpenSuse, there is a separate configuration option for TV cards. It already recognized the card and I only had to click "next" a couple of times to automatically get the firmware and drivers installed. This also installed the necessary apps, 30 seconds later I was watching tv.

With Ubuntu it seems I have to manually download and install everything .. I honestly did not try because it looks way too complicated.

The installation process was easier and more flexible in OpenSuse, in my opinion ... everything was detected and reasonable suggestions were made.
Also, Ubuntu will not include another Linux distro that is installed in parallel in its grub startup menu by default, OpenSuse did.

The only thing so far that definitely works better in Ubuntu is the package management.

Why Ubuntu is hyped as being "easy" is beyond me -- everything so far was much easier to get going in OpenSuse and as I mentioned, the current released version of OpenSuse installs without problem while Ubuntu does not.

I also posted a couple of support questions on the Ubuntu forums and the Suse forums (of which there are, strangely, two) and while there is the legend of the "great Ubuntu community" I have to say that I nearly always got a faster response on the Suse forums and usually also one that is more satisfying (ie not a simple link to some rather cryptic CLI hacks).

In conclusion I wish that Ubuntu would learn a bit from OpenSuse about how to make things easy and how to avoid endless command line hacking and file editing for anything that is not totally basic.

I WANT to use Ubuntu, but at the moment, OpenSuse seems to make a lot of things a lot easier.

[lhtown]

I'm glad you're having a good experience with Suse. It is indeed a good distribution that keeps things hopping for Ubuntu.

Obviously, since I am on the Ubuntu forum, I much prefer Debian/Ubuntu, but good luck anyway.

[blarney]

I am currently trying to install it on a dual processor machine and having a very hard time doing it.

[uNmentaLogic]

I was using Opensuse 10.2 before I made the switch to Vista and I found it to be the best distribution Ive used since moving to linux. It's polished easy to use, no need for CLI hacking, integrated search and GUI controls, the only downside which is the reason I moved away is the lack of customisation of the firewall. When the firewall can be manipulated on a per application basis instead of the broad port ranges it uses now I will consider moving back. I will be recommending Opensuse 10.2 to anyone who wants to try linux though.

[closetpirate]

This great new product that the Linux Community has been raving about Suse 10.2 has had some great reviews and I might give it a shot myself. On the other hand I do love my Edgy Eft install and have things just the way I like it. I usually switch every 3 or 4 months to try something new. I do think that Ubuntu is worth the effort because sometimes (as with anything) things just don't go as well as we hope.

It is nice to hear opinions without loaded questions though

[chipmonk010]

I've tried the new suse 10.2 but i just cant bring myself to like it....

Yast is a mess, im sorry but its just not as simple or easy to use as apt-get or synaptic

All the "wizards" in suse remind me way to much of windows, give me vim and /etc over that anyday

For users who want a windowZ-esk linux suse is probably the best choice but thats not what I want and im sure most seasoned linux users will agree.



P.S slightly bias because: Im not new to linux, spent most of my time with a debian or gentoo base, and i dislike KDE.

Just dont turn my ubuntu into suse PLEASE!

[_simon_]

Yast to a first time user is VERY confusing and I should know, this is day 3 of my openSuSe experience. It's a little less confusing now but it's painfully slow.

Having used Ubuntu for well over a year, SuSe is an interesting change as is KDE. Whether I return to Ubuntu I don't know yet.

[milanvora2]

I built a new PC and moved to linux. I have no linux experience and thus I'm unbiased.

First I tried KUbuntu:

Install worked rapidly. Not too many questions asked. The guided formatting of partitions was crap. The manual one allowed to get the job done. Overall I was impressed with apt-get and the repository. I also liked the fact that I could select the apps to install and not too many apps came pre-installed. I was surprised that some apps were not installed by default (Firefox, vlc ...). Only issue faced was the installation of network printer and and usb ext drive auto-mounting. I installed the apps I wanted and could watch movies within seconds.the updates worked well, but gave an error, which I had to rectify by resolving manually the issue. Forum support is incredible.

I then tried Opensuse. Their installation rocks. Their partition recommendation was superior in guided mode. Installation was quick considering the amount they install. For some reason, the network was not configured properly, but the usb drive mounted ok. Again these are not big issues as I could fix it. I was impressed with the amount of pre-installed apps.But I prefer to choose myself what I want. Yast was as painful. Suse version was a bit slower but I guess it's due to the nr of apps installed.

Overall, I would say both distro's are still far away for the out-of-the-box installation that vista provides, although the installation of suse was much superior than windows.

I have decided to stick with ubuntu because of the apt and the forum support. I'm going to wait and watch how both distributions evolve and assess the situation in a year's time. This will give me some time to familiarize myself with linux.

In any case, I'm happy i got rid of windows and I'm not going back.

[boywholinuxed]

the main reason i took ubuntu is because they r giving free cds!!!
but ubuntu is quite good ,i have just seen screenshots of mandrake and suse and they look quite good as well.

Another great feature of ubuntu is these forums,they are so many really helpful people out there !!

i dunno if suse and mandriva have this kind of forum

[AdamWill]

Of course.

http://forum.mandriva.com/
http://www.mandrivausers.org/
http://www.suseforums.net/

[rustybronco]

Every linux distro has a different experence for each person, mine was not so good with suse 10.2 (dvd-factory pressed disc), it would not select the correct video resolution ootb on my laptop (satellite pro 4300), desktop (ecs k7s5a-pro, nvidea fx5900xt), my wifes hp desktop (radeon 7000ve or nvidea mx400 cards) or the dell that I worked on for an old teacher of mine (nor did 7.04-7.10 ubuntu on that one).
now with mandriva... either the 2007 or 2008 versions, those did install and work correctly all four. I would have liked to try suse without having to resort to work-a-rounds and the time involved in them, just to see if it recognized all the hardware.
I may give it a go again with a spare hard drive, when I get a little more free time.
but I will not give up my hardy and apt for anything in the foreseeable future.

p.s. glad it worked for you!!!!!

[roaldz]

All I hear from suse is that Yast is a mess, and I´ve been using Ubuntu since the beginning, so that keeps me from trying suse out. But actually I´m still in love with KDE, but I think Kubuntu isn´t good enough for kde. Kubuntu has some nasty bugs as far as I can remember..
Kde is such a wonderfull DE because everything links up in each other , you can´t say that about gnome.. Gnome is a memory hog too, kde´s pretty light-weight, especially 4.1! Is KDE in suse better than kde in kubuntu?

Roald

[RebounD11]

I switched from KDE to Gnome in the past because of the memory and CPU usage KDE has. I doubt KDE is less resource demanding than Gnome... maybe KDE4, but that I will try when Fedora 9 comes out.

[Antman]

Is KDE in suse better than kde in kubuntu?
Depends on what you mean by "better."
But, IMO openSUSE has a better looking KDE and less buggy.

[roaldz]

Depends on what you mean by "better."
But, IMO openSUSE has a better looking KDE and less buggy.

Looks can easily be adjusted, bugs can´t. So yes, I mean buggyness. I don´t like bugs..

[johann_p]

Depends on what you mean by "better."
But, IMO openSUSE has a better looking KDE and less buggy.
Well, under Suse I never had a problem with KDE like this one
(http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=701919)

[Vince4Amy]

I really like the integration with KDE on OpenSUSE which is the reason why it will be the only Distro I use now.

Also it seems to be much more polished off in other aspects, such as the way certain folders are displayed and YAST has been improved a lot in 10.3.

Another thing I like is the One-Click installs and the way that you can administer the whole system just from YAST.

[quickshade]

11 is amazing so far. The installer is sweet and fast. The load times are great and they are polishing everything this time. In fact I can't wait for 11. It looks to be the best distro release in a long time.