Should I Migrate To Opensuse?

Hi. I'm a Fedora user from Brazil. I'm currently running Fedora 9 on my machine at home - and since I'm a translator, I work at home, using this machine.

I like Fedora, it works pretty fine, but I do have a few problems with it. First, Fedora values free software a bit more than I do. Don't get me wrong, it's just that sometimes I need something that is not free and Fedora makes it harder for me to get it. For example, if I try to run a DVD on my machine I get all that info about proprietary codecs, and no link to libdvdcss. OpenSUSE makes things easier, with links to a one-click-install package. I was VERY impressed when I tested it on openSUSE 10.3, about a year ago.

Second, openSUSE supports each new version for two years, and since I use this machine to get my translations done I don't want to install a new version every six months. It's my job, I don't want to install a new version and get bugs and more bugs all around.

I have tried many distros in the past, but openSUSE 10.3 left a pretty good impression, so I'm considering a migration.But I would like to know how openSUSE fares in a few key areas:

- Stability;
- Newer versions of software (suppose Mozilla releases Firefox 4 in six months. Will openSUSE jump on the boat, or will I have to deal with FF3 for months?)
- Performance: I assume openSUSE will run fine on my 1GB RAM machine. But how does it perform on a machine with 512 RAM? I plan on installing it on my wife's PC too.

Forgive me if I'm asking too many questions... thanks in advance!

For example, if I try to run a DVD on my machine I get all that info about proprietary codecs
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Even with MPlayer or Kaffeine? (I know Totem requires purchases from Fluendo now.)

If you are a KDE fan then you might want to try SuSE, I'm not so sure that's the case if you prefer Gnome.

Even with MPlayer or Kaffeine? (I know Totem requires purchases from Fluendo now.)
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If I install MPlayer or VLC there is no problem. What I mean is that it´s not as easy to get multimedia codecs working on Fedora as it is on openSUSE. OpenSUSE shows you the way, with Fedora you must learn how to do it.

If you are a KDE fan then you might want to try SuSE, I'm not so sure that's the case if you prefer Gnome.
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Why not? I´m a GNOME user. Do you think there´s a problem with GNOME on openSUSE?

I don't think there is a problem with Gnome, its just that there is a focus on KDE. There is great anticipation around here for the release of KDE 4.

I am running a lab rat with 256MB of memory and on-board intel video. It's a celeron with a slower chip than in your wife's machine. Right now, I have opensuse 11 RC1 installed. I even put on the unstable version of KDE. It does not run well enough for everyday use. Also, there are no desktop effects with this old intel video.

However, it ran well with 10.3 and the stable version of KDE. In fact, it was "ok" with KDE 4, "stable" version and RC1. I have no idea how gnome will run for you, but it will likely work well even on your wife's machine.

The opensuse community updates apps pretty quickly. And there are repos that will keep you on the bleeding edge, if that's what you want. I've been using FF Beta5 since the second day it was out. Each of the previous betas came out pretty fast as well.

I think, as you get used to suse, you will like it very much.

After test-driving numerous distros, as many others in this forum have done, I have settled on three favorites: Linux Mint GNOME, openSUSE KDE, and Mandriva GNOME. I keep Live CDs for each one handy for demonstration and installation purposes. It might be a valuable research project for you to download a few distros and see how well your hardware likes the software. Your hardware, most times, is what makes the decision for you. Visual appearances can be adjusted. Good luck!

Hi. I'm a Fedora user from Brazil. I'm currently running Fedora 9 on my machine at home - and since I'm a translator, I work at home, using this machine.

I like Fedora, it works pretty fine, but I do have a few problems with it. First, Fedora values free software a bit more than I do. Don't get me wrong, it's just that sometimes I need something that is not free and Fedora makes it harder for me to get it. For example, if I try to run a DVD on my machine I get all that info about proprietary codecs, and no link to libdvdcss. OpenSUSE makes things easier, with links to a one-click-install package. I was VERY impressed when I tested it on openSUSE 10.3, about a year ago.

Second, openSUSE supports each new version for two years, and since I use this machine to get my translations done I don't want to install a new version every six months. It's my job, I don't want to install a new version and get bugs and more bugs all around.

I have tried many distros in the past, but openSUSE 10.3 left a pretty good impression, so I'm considering a migration.But I would like to know how openSUSE fares in a few key areas:

- Stability;
- Newer versions of software (suppose Mozilla releases Firefox 4 in six months. Will openSUSE jump on the boat, or will I have to deal with FF3 for months?)
- Performance: I assume openSUSE will run fine on my 1GB RAM machine. But how does it perform on a machine with 512 RAM? I plan on installing it on my wife's PC too.

Forgive me if I'm asking too many questions... thanks in advance!
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Stability: openSUSE is quite stable.
Updates: keep track of the main update repository through YaST. It is very easy. Also, look in Packman repository.
Performance: I have used it in 256 mb and it works faster than XP on it. I liked it.

Hope you enjoy SUSE.

Why not? I´m a GNOME user. Do you think there´s a problem with GNOME on openSUSE?
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I remember (it was March that I tried out SuSE) having problems getting things to run on Gnome while they worked quite easily on KDE; one example was KTranslator – I had to edit .bash_profile to get it to run on Gnome and then found it started automatically as soon as I logged on into KDE.

Whether you use Gnome or KDE you will find that you cannot enter a character with its Unicode number with Ctrl+Shift+U on SuSE as you can with Fedora. Although I would not expect a translator to want to resort to this input method often, I still think it's a very good feature to have.

Also you will find that the hidden folder for OpenOffice on Fedora (or Debian or Ubuntu or Sabayon) is not compatible with the one on SuSE – so in switching from Fedora to SuSE you may well have to reload all your OpenOffice macros and dictionaries etc.

Thank you all, you were very helpful! I'm considering all of this information, and testing openSUSE 11 on my wife's computer.

I've been using Linux for years, so I've already used Mandrake, Mandriva, Ubuntu, Fedora, Centos, Puppy... I have an idea of how they all work, now I'm trying openSUSE.