For only the second time in all my usage of openSuSE, an RC1 build was usable (with but a single driver addition) out of the box (naturally, the only other such case was the RC1 of 11.0). And unlike 11.0 RC1, I didn’t find myself running to a closed-source driver for the graphics (the retreat to non-open-source was, surprisingly, for a GPLv2-licensed driver for my X-Fi XtremeGamer (Creative states specifically that V2 of the GPL applies; so the driver, while proprietary, is open-source under V2 of the GPL; who would have thought that?), which works immediately following the two-steps required after extraction (and you can sudo your way through both steps)).
So, as the 1st Bombardment (Medium) Squadron (VBM-1P; The Porkchoppers) is practicing maneuvers over Hell, MI, we have a truly usable openSuSE that is usable on today’s hardware without blowing off the more Linux-friendly hardware.