> OK, but i asked this question here to know how openSUSE users will
> defend against such a opinion about their lovely distro.
Not every bad opinion needs to be defended against. The opinion is, on
the face of it, patently absurd. The person who wrote the opinion has
had nothing good to say about Novell, SUSE, or openSUSE since the Novell/
MS agreement was signed.
So he wants to paint a picture that openSUSE is in decline in order to
validate his negativity about Novell, SUSE, and openSUSE. <shrug> It’s
a free world. That doesn’t make his opinion valid or even correct.
> anyway, i will continue asking in another places …
> and sometimes i think openSUSE forum is not as friendly as for example
> Linux Mint forum.
It’s not “unfriendly” to point out that asking if the distribution a
forum is about is in decline in that forum is a somewhat silly question
to ask.
Logically, if that opinion were a valid opinion, there wouldn’t be anyone
here to answer the question.
On Mon, 23 Apr 2012 19:26:03 +0000, rafter22 wrote:
> In the last 7 days Linux Mint has declined more than openSUSE. Over the
> last year both have gained users.
>
> 'DistroWatch.com
Distrowatch does not measure the number of users of a distribution. This
is a common misconception about what distrowatch does.
Distrowatch is nothing more than a hit counter for the pages on
distrowatch for each distro. This may or may not reflect the popularity
of a distribution.
>
> OK, but i asked this question here to know how openSUSE users will
> defend against such a opinion about their lovely distro.
> anyway, i will continue asking in another places …
> and
> sometimes i think openSUSE forum is not as friendly as for example
> Linux Mint forum.
>
i’m sorry to have made you upset with my replies, that wasn’t my intention.
i think it’s mainly a communication problem: i was assuming you were aware
of things you probably aren’t, and both of us seem to have english as
second language. i didn’t mean to sound rude or unwelcoming, but that’s
how you understood me. again, i’m sorry for causing you grief, and here’s
your questions answered simple & straightforward, from my point of view:
i have no idea if openSUSE is declining, and it doesn’t concern me.
numbers go up and down, vary according to how you measure them. i
certainly don’t see any obvious, steady downward trend;
openSUSE isn’t dead;
it would be a good idea to translate available documentation into
languages that don’t have them yet. starting with the beginning makes
sense, too;
On 4/23/2012 11:30 AM, Jim Henderson wrote:
> On Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:36:02 +0000, ilAli wrote:
>
>> i really don’t understand what is wrong with you about this question?!
>
> Phani brings up a good point, though.
>
> You wouldn’t go to a Ford dealership and ask them what kind of car you
> should buy and expect them to say you should buy a Toyota.
>
> Asking the openSUSE community “do you think you’re dying” or “do you
> think the distro is dying” is along the same lines. If people are using
> openSUSE, they clearly don’t think it’s dying, or they’d have moved to
> something else.
>
> Jim
I am not sure how one measures dying. People hop all the time from one
distro to another. There is no way to measure it accurately.
The Amiga is dead but people still using it. Many things or software is
in a way dead but it will be still used. Commercially dead would be a
more better guidance.
On Mon, 23 Apr 2012 21:20:05 +0000, JoergJaeger wrote:
> I am not sure how one measures dying. People hop all the time from one
> distro to another. There is no way to measure it accurately.
Well, there are theoretical ways that you could, but it would require
configuring each distro to report that it’s been installed and is being
used. Something like the Linux Counter Project.
But because Linux is open, people would be free to remove the “phone
home” piece to be counted - and some would opt not to use a distribution
that did “phone home” in that way.
> The Amiga is dead but people still using it. Many things or software is
> in a way dead but it will be still used. Commercially dead would be a
> more better guidance.
Only for something that was exclusively distributed through a commercial
channel.
On 4/23/2012 6:04 PM, Jim Henderson wrote:
> On Mon, 23 Apr 2012 21:20:05 +0000, JoergJaeger wrote:
>
>> I am not sure how one measures dying. People hop all the time from one
>> distro to another. There is no way to measure it accurately.
>
> Well, there are theoretical ways that you could, but it would require
> configuring each distro to report that it’s been installed and is being
> used. Something like the Linux Counter Project.
>
> But because Linux is open, people would be free to remove the “phone
> home” piece to be counted - and some would opt not to use a distribution
> that did “phone home” in that way.
>
>> The Amiga is dead but people still using it. Many things or software is
>> in a way dead but it will be still used. Commercially dead would be a
>> more better guidance.
>
> Only for something that was exclusively distributed through a commercial
> channel.
>
> Jim
>
>
>
Well true. I think i was pointing to the circumstances that if for
example Suse would see a shrink in subscribers (the pro’s) that would
indicate a problem.
OpenSuse is a different issue since it is aimed at the regular folks.
I think if Suse would be gone, openSuse may be in trouble too. But i
don’t see that.
Besides every distribution has fluctuations in one way or the other.
With all the counters i have my doubt that anyone can accurately say
what for example the marketshare is. Or how well a distribution does.
There is no real fact check on how much the marketshare for linux as a
whole is. Is it 0.2 or even 9. No one knows for sure. I was reading a
while ago that some of the researches were in fact dubious and not
conclusive.
> Whom else is the OP supposed to ask? Or is that the kind of question
> you’re not supposed to ask?
if i had such concerns, i would use google and some opensource blogs and
websites.
the one the OP posted would be one i’d dismiss immediately, because it
contains practically no information and is obviously biased against novel.
i would also disregard openSUSE forums & websites, because i’d assume they
are biased in favor of oS.
On Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:46:02 +0000, please try again wrote:
> hendersj;2457934 Wrote:
>>
>> You wouldn’t go to a Ford dealership and ask them what kind of car you
>> should buy and expect them to say you should buy a Toyota.
>>
>>
> If the car dealer is clever, he’s going to say something that you didn’t
> expect anyway.
Yes, but in the end, he’s going to sell you a Ford, because that’s what
he has on offer.
> hendersj;2457934 Wrote:
>>
>> Asking the openSUSE community “do you think you’re dying” or “do you
>> think the distro is dying” is along the same lines.
>
> Whom else is the OP supposed to ask? Or is that the kind of question
> you’re not supposed to ask?
I guess it’s more about framing - “are you dying?” is unlikely to receive
a “no” answer. “What are you doing to grow?” is more likely to be
answered in a more positive manner.
Nope. I came - therefore it’s increasing!
I’ve been converting others religiously as well.
But seriously.
This has to be one of the most active Linux OS communities I have found and been very supportive of my issues.
I get better support from forums and mailing lists than what I paid for with some of my proprietary software.
In fact, the process to get support from some commercial vendors is enough of a headache to not even bother…
With those vendors it is also often 1-on-1 but with open source, it is global and you discuss your issues with an audience.
Hah…I was a loyal user of Linux Mint KDE till the last release came out and I saw what was really happening over there. Months after the promised KDE release came out, it came out and was more of a beta version than a release. But…they now had a KDE version to add to the list. As we were repeatedly told over in the KDE section of the forum, Linux Mint is and always will be a Gnome release. And if you are looking for KDE…go elsewhere, or be content with the bread crumbs that come out occasionally and far later than the promises.
The Linux Mint forum seems to get a lot of daily hits, but they are from people with broke systems from installing the latest upgrade. As I’ve said over there, openSUSE is boring…because it works. When I first made the change from Linux Mint to openSUSE, I had an audio problem. I posted the same question on both forums. On the Linux Mint forum, I had an admin move the question…but not offer any help. On the openSUSE forum, I got some help and the problem fixed.
OK, after reading all posts until now, i would like to say the title that i chosen for this thread could be better.
i hope my question didn’t hurt openSUSE users and developers hearts.
I don’t think there is a decline in openSUSE going on, actually I see more (favorable) mention of openSUSE on other forums, blogs and sites.
I think there may a slowing down to the uptake of Linux from Windows users, now that 7 is mature and people are using tablets (Android or iOS).
When Vista came out, there was a bump in people looking for an alternative, but 7 has stemmed that tide by giving people a fairly stable, familiar, working system. I do suspect all of the Gnome changes are turning off the more casual users (I’m not going to argue if this is good or bad).
Going between openSUSE 12.1 KDE 4.7 and Windows 7 I actually find very little different interface-wise. It is when trying to install programs, configure and to use peripherals that I find things slightly different.
Stephan Kulow has been the Project Manager since 2007, way before the acquisition of Novell by Attachmate Group. And the Board elections have been working as usual. So that statement is plain false.
I’ve used many distros (Fedora, Mandriva, Mageia, Mint, Ubuntu, Kubuntu, PCLinuxOS), and OpenSUSE is SURELY one of the best.
It’s up to date, the documentation is very complete, the main site is wonderful and the Forum very well crowded …
So, long live to OpenSUSE! rotfl!
