
OpenSUSE 13.1 Released - Tsiolkovsky
http://news.opensuse.org/2013/11/19/opensuse-13-1-ready-for-action/
======
nathanb
I used to be a die-hard OpenSUSE user.

When 11.4 came out, I complained to my co-worker. "Man, another upgrade.
Things always seem to go a little wonky after updating."

He said "wait, what do you mean?"

Turns out he was an Arch Linux user, and Arch uses a rolling release system.
The idea of upgrading to a new version doesn't make sense; every system update
gives you the newest tested version of everything.

(So now instead of things going wonky every few months, they go wonky
constantly :)

OpenSUSE is a fine distro, especially if you're a KDE user. But if you're
tired of a big bomb upgrade once every so often, consider a rolling release
distro as well.

On the other hand, if you want to run the same code and not worry about
upgrading for years, 13.1 is a good choice because it's a longterm support
release and will continue to receive bugfixes until 2016.

~~~
rmk2
If you want rolling-release, use openSUSE-factory[1], i.e. the development
branch (though this might sometimes break on you). If you want an inbetween
thing between rolling release and standard, use Tumbleweed[2], which is
curated by Greg K-H and brings you new versions of important software, i.e.
KDE/Gnome, kernel, git, vim/emacs etc. Tumbleweed uses a set of repositories
called *-current, which are always symlinked to the current version. As of
today, my next update will bring me onto 13.1 standard for all packages, while
Tumbleweed will be emptied soon. In a little while, Tumbleweed will be
populated again with updates newer than the 13.1 version, as they appear. This
cycle continues until 13.2 is released, and then starts anew.

[1]:
[http://en.opensuse.org/Portal:Factory](http://en.opensuse.org/Portal:Factory)

[2]:
[http://en.opensuse.org/Portal:Tumbleweed](http://en.opensuse.org/Portal:Tumbleweed)

------
sharms
I have been running this for a few months and it was worked well. For the
curious I did use BTRFS as my default file system, and KDE4 desktop. A few
things I do after installing: * Install proprietary nvidia driver * Install
steam (this is a 1 click install from the Suse Wiki) * Install
namtrac:subpixel for good looking fonts (zipper ar
[http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/namtrac:/sub...](http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/namtrac:/subpixel/openSUSE_13.1/home:namtrac:subpixel.repo))
* Install ksuperkey to use the windows key to open the menu

Great release and nice to see the progress Linux is making!

~~~
mikevm
Quick KDE question from a KDE noob: When you open the KDE Menu, is there any
way to make it focus the search textbox by default? Or is there a faster way
of searching an application or file other than opening the KDE menu?

~~~
qwerta
alt-f2 ?

~~~
rmk2
You can either hit ALT-F2 or you can just press ALT, hit the first letter of
what you are looking for, release ALT, then continue typing.

After hitting ALT-F2, you will see a little spanner on the left of the
dialogue that opens. Click on that and you get additional options where to
search for your term, including devices, bookmarks, applications, the
calculator etc.

------
andrewcooke
Yay! When my laptop gets back from being fixed it's going on (now is a good
time to get the ISO over bittorrent - there will be many, many seeders).
Download link (wrong in article?!) -
[http://software.opensuse.org/131](http://software.opensuse.org/131)

(Incidentally, do X series thinkpads still have the plug at the _back_? It
switched from the side somewhere between X60 and X220, and if it's at the back
it gets bent every time you pick the laptop up from the front - mine failed
last week...)

~~~
bluedino
Not sure why it's been 7 years since the Magsafe debuted on the MacBook Pro
and every laptop doesn't use a similar power cord by now. So many laptops are
broken (but fixable) by DC jacks breaking.

~~~
jamiek88
Yes, typical Apple really, one of those ideas that seem bloody obvious in
hindsight, yet they are the only ones doing it.

Prob got a patent of some sort on it.

Looking forward to trying to get this running on my mid 2011 MBA, its
currently running Ubuntu and works very well.

~~~
girvo
They did patent it, yeah.

------
xolve
I moved from Kubuntu to openSuse. On big plus is easier administration and
almost generic packages (except branding). openSuse's Yast is basically a neat
GUI wrapper and it works fine even if when you change some config manually.

You need to add Pacman repo to install the goodies.

You can choose to remain with FLOSS software or install proprietary packages
if you want.

Besides, a distro doesn't matter much, what matters is what you do on that.

------
qwerta
OpenSUSE seems like best KDE distro just after Kubuntu.

~~~
pestaa
What do you like about Kubuntu more compared to openSUSE?

~~~
qwerta
Better font rendering, larger software selection, home folder encryption, WIFI
firmware included on CD. I also think apt is better package manager. On other
side SUSE has better installer.

I am not sure Kubuntu will survive 14.04. Perhaps there will be replacement
based on Debian. Perhaps it will be time to move to OpenSUSE.

~~~
andrewcooke
font rendering is just config. first thing i do with opensuse is install the
mstttfonts and enable anti-aliasing (weak hints). [edit] the patent issues
have long since died away -
[http://www.freetype.org/patents.html](http://www.freetype.org/patents.html)

i'm pretty sure (no numbers) package selection isn't less on opensuse, it's
just distributed over more repos. use
[http://software.opensuse.org/search](http://software.opensuse.org/search)

you have more encryption options with opensuse - the yast installer (partition
manager) is more flexible than the ubuntu one (i couldn't duplicate my
opensuse install with ubuntu and had to go with something simpler). and home
directory encryption is an option in yast under "details" for add new user.

i have used both. ubuntu is the nicer "out of the box" (it feels more apple-
ish). but opensuse allows you to fiddle more - as a developer i prefer
opensuse because it's easier to poke around and change things. yast is a huge
help when you want it and stays out of the way when you don't - for me it
makes opensuse the sweet spot between ubuntu and distros like debian.

~~~
qwerta
> font rendering is just config.

Not just config, but patents! There are patents which covers font rendering
(thanks a lot apple), so freetype in most distributions is crippled. Ubuntu
ships with those patches.

I think on OpenSuse I could install patched freetype (or Infinality which
think uses different algorithm).

> but opensuse allows you to fiddle more

I mostly do Debian, so creating a few symlinks is simple. I used Suse a lot 10
years ago.

~~~
mikevm
Are you saying that one doesn't need to use these patches on Ubuntu:
[http://www.infinality.net/blog/infinality-freetype-
patches/](http://www.infinality.net/blog/infinality-freetype-patches/) ?

~~~
qwerta
I have to retract my previous statement about fonts.

My config is bit unusual, VRGB with inverse colors. I just installed Suse 13.1
alongside my Kubuntu 13.10 and rendering looks good on both.

I also tried Infinality on 13.1, but fonts did not improved. It also does not
seems to have VRGB settings.

Also Firefox in Suse is using KDE file dialogs. Kubuntu gave-up on this long
time ago.

So I think I found new home, after my current installation expires.

------
izietto
> YaST has been ported to Ruby

!!!

~~~
Mikeb85
Why not? Ruby's a great scripting language. Apparently alot of SUSE devs are
also Rubyists...

~~~
izietto
It's just that it surprises me when applications are written in Ruby instead
of Python, especially on Linux where Python seems to be the king of the high
level languages

