So, I have been using microsoft windows on my desktop all my life.
I have had several linux servers, but these usually just sat in the corner connected to the network.
Like many others before me I got fed up with windows crashing and having to format every 6-9 months. I had tried SUSE once before on my last server (openSUSE 10.3 ) and was massively impressed.
Getting an encrypted LVM spanning over 5 drives was easy and pleasant, I loved YaST and the software was excellent. So the choice was easy when openSUSE 11 came out.
I downloaded and burnt the iso, installed openSUSE and am happy again.
I just want to congratulate all contributors to this fantastic distro, I highly recommend it!
I 100% agree. I am still amazed that all this time, such a better way existed and I was unaware. Well done to the contributors. You have given me a compelling reason to convert.
Anyway… I recently converted from Fedora/CentOS (dual-boot). RAM usage on Fedora was very high (full 1GB RAM use and 2GB swap use after a few days) and CentOS would leak memory on the simplest of tasks (printing a 50 page assignment!?).
Since using OpenSuSE I have had far less RAM usage and the system is far more responsive. I was a bit (…okay a lot) of a Red Hat fanboy, but after opening my mind and trying SuSE properly [starting with 11.0], I have experienced a distro which is much easier to use and operate. I recently upgraded to 11.1 (yes, someone leaked a GM link :D) and I am still liking what I see. The closest I have seen to this quality is using ArchLinux which is only a fraction snappier, but at the cost of a lot of manual configuration.
As far as Microsoft goes… i’m in bed with Novell and Steve Ballmer can join us if he likes This is a great distribution.
I wish I could fully convert but I do extensive home audio recording and I have limited or no functionality with my expensive hardware under Linux. I know it is the fault of the manufacturers for not having any real interest in providing the drivers or the source for the community to make them. Actually, it’s prolly a good idea not having all your eggs in one basket.
Of course, that’s understandable. You couldn’t have known better. But the point is, now you do. And the next time you buy expensive (or cheap, for that matter) hardware, you might choose to do as I just did yesterday: shop for compatible hardware. I did my research (very thoroughly) and then I just walked into the shop and bought the HP OfficeJet 6310 All-in-One Network Printer/Fax/Scanner. It was on sale for just 118 € here in Ljubljana. I brought it home, connected it via an ethernet cable to my laptop, downloaded the hplip package in YaST, and got the printer working in 5 minutes. It was actually easier than in Windows, I didn’t even care to unpack the 5 or 6 CDs that came with the machine! It’s commendable how HP actually care to maintain great open-source drivers for their hardware, and also an exhaustive list of their older hardware, stating specifically what works and what doesn’t, what version of hplip drivers is required and so on and so on. Wish more hardware vendors took that approach. Way to go, HP!
This is a great distribution.