OpenSuse 13.2 review

Communities Blog
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A lot has changed in the past year in the world of Linux. Since the the last release of Opensuse (13.1) the landscape has progressed quite a bit. Has Suse's latest entry changed with the time or will it be passed up? I run Opensuse on my MSI GS 60 ghost to find out.

Installation:

Opensuse has it's own installer that differs from Fedora's Anaconda installer and Ubuntu's installer. The partitioning manager does a nice job for an automated pationing scheme. I only had to make a slight adjustment.

The installer gives you the option to turn ssh on or off before the system has been written to disk which is handy if you want to run it headless.

Opensuse is fully compatible with UEFI and secure boot which is great if you have a Windows 8 laptop. BTRFS is now the default file system for OpenSuse and it rocks (more on that later). A really neat feature is it will show you a system map of your partitions for us visual  people.

The Software:

I used Gnome for this install so I can't speak on KDE expect it is not running KDE 5.0 since it is not considered mature enough.

13.2 comes with the usual suspects of software like Libre Office, Gedit and Firefox. Gnome runs Shotwell instead of the Gnome image app which I find to better since it has more options.

But, where Opensuse Really shines is with Yast. Think of YaST as the Windows control panel on steroids. You can get into the nitty gritty of the OS without having to touch the command line. I love the Snapper tool which allows you revert to previous BTRFS snapshots if you screw up your system. I had to use it when I locked myself out of systemd (don't ask) and it is a life saver. 

Under the hood Opensuse is running Linux kernel 3.16 which isn't as new as it could be. But installing kernel 3.17 isn't too bad and really needed if you plan on installing it onto a Surface pro or other x86 tablet. 

Apparmor and systemd installed by default wich add a nice layer of hardening to a stock install. Systemd sandboxes your daemons (services) and Apparmor limits the reach of programs so, to prevent malicious code from doing too much damage. The firewall settings in YaST are adequate for most users.

Use:

I have made Opensuse my daily driver on my MSI GS 60 Ghost, and it shows that this system has no problems with new hardware. Installing software is a breeze with one-click installs on the Opensuse website and more distros need to adopt it. Zypper, the command line package manager is just as easy as apt (Debian's package manager). But you don't have to use the command line because Yast has a software tool that is very intuitive.

On a negative side there is a fair bit of programs (like steam) that isn't in the official repositories (software sources) and must be added through the build service. It isn't a big deal because it can be done as a one-click install but it does irk me.

I did have a a dependency issues with Chrome (gotta have netflix), lsb wasn't installed but could be added through Yast easily.

Getting Nvidia hybrid graphics (Optimus) to run was a massive pain but that is an issue across Linux because Nvidia doesn't seem to make things easy for us penguin users. Linus Torvalds has a few choice words for Nvidia when it comes to Optimus.

Systemd does take some time to get used to if you have been using Linux for a while, but that is what the man pages are for.

If Novell and community take forever for the next release you can place the OS in a rolling release cycle (Tumbleweed/Factory) by changing your repositories. 

Conclusion:

Opensuse 13.2 is a cutting edge and easy to use distro with some great power user features that don't require use of the command line. Totally recommend for both those who are new to Linux and the saltiest open source users among us. 

Give it a try today: http://software.opensuse.org/developer/

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Glad you like it.

Tip: The missing software and a chrome build (normally you would use chromium in linux, but if you insist on the Google keylogger on your system, it's definitely possible) without missing dependencies (there is actually a reason why these dependencies are missing, because they are not open source) can be found in the community repo packman. The best way to add it though is not by searching the list with community repos, but is by adding the URL of the german main packman repo. Once you get packman, you have everything you can dream of, including nVidia builds that work for your install.

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lsb was in the mainline repos and I want chrome for netflix

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Oh and a little detail, it's not that important because they don't have an enforcement policy on open source friendly fora, so leave it, but the "Geeko" logo of OpenSuSE is actually not CC licensed, it's not free to use, so normally you would need to ask for permission first. But leave it, it will most probably be no problem.

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you don't need chrome for netflix any more. UAC has been discarded on netflix, it actually works on chromium, and you can get chromium-pepper from packman, and then you can have netflix also.

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Just pm if it is an issue I will swap it out with something else btw thanks about pacman I am adding it right now

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Don't worry about it lolz

OpenSuSE is the only free distro with a prior agreement EULA for exactly that reason, because the artwork and trademarks are not redistributable. But it's also the only EULA in the world of software you can pretty safely click "I agree" on without having to lie awake at night and calling upon an exorcist to save your soul, if you know what I mean lol.

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+1 Installed OpenSUSE today, its really good

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All hail the great geeko, lol!

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i played arround with open suse for a while aswell, and also i realy like this distro. i allways used it with KDE by the way. Works nicely aswell.

The Yast is indeed very handy.

If you are a pro windows XP/7 user, then i can realy recommend kde. But Gnome works nice aswell. ☺

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I like GNOME because it is different it forces me out of the Windows Mindset.

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ok...

Suse is no more property of Novell .. but this happened only in 2010.. Is not easy to stay up to date..

Wake up in the morning.. sometimes

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Ok, it is the Attachmate Group which owns Novell and Suse so it just arguing schemantics.

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SUSE Linux GmbH in Nürnberg has always been a pretty independent enterprise.

Novell acquired it when they acquired Corel, that had bought SUSE Linux GmbH and invested greatly in it (the excellent manual and document was made with Corel money, it's unique in the linux world, and still a great heritage of SUSE that sets it apart from other distros, none of which have an actual manual made by professional manual editors).

Then Novell was bought by Attachmate, which brought about the deal with Microsoft, and made Microsoft into the biggest linux vendor in the world, and also one of the biggest providers of funds for linux development.

Now SUSE has been bought by a UK company with a long track record in the IT industry, Micro Focus, but since Attachmate reincorporated SUSE Linux as an independent business unit in early 2011, it stays independent from Novell, which was also bought by the same company.

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Because that is confusing I removed Novell from the article.

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Nice review. I'm side booting 13.2 on my desktop right now. Only annoying thing was Nouveau which kept crashing on me until I got the proprietary drivers installed. Otherwise OpenSuse is the easiest distro to get installed in my opinion. I only just found out about Tumbleweed which I will probably use instead since I like rolling release better. 

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Thank you sir

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OK not entirely related to OpenSUSE/at all really, but does the MSI GS60 Ghost run hot when you really drive it? I heard it hits up to 93C

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Depends on what you are doing. I have never got it that hot. I have got it the 80s the big thing with it is to well ventilated since it is so small and the fan isn't that powerful. I don't over stress it though I mainly use it for older party games.

Civ 5 in Linux runs fine.