Not sure if you like it or not…
After quite long period of silence, I’ve done 2 reviews of OpenSuSE recently.
OpenSuSE 12.1 Li-f-e: get trained, if you can - Linux notes from DarkDuck
OpenSuSE 12.2 GNOME: a step ahead - Linux notes from DarkDuck
All feedback is welcome, but constructive one is much more welcome.
(I would prefer feedback in comments to the post, by the way)
I was wondering which is you favorite distribution ?
On 09/17/2012 11:36 AM, darkduck-com wrote:
> (I would prefer feedback in comments to the post, by the
> way)
constructive comment: please correctly present the trademark
“openSUSE”…you can see it correctly shown on this page:
http://en.opensuse.org/openSUSE:Trademark_guidelines
hint, none of these are correct:
OpenSuSE OpenSUsE OpenSUSe OpenSUSE OpenSuse OpensUse OpensuSe OpensusE
Opensuse openSuse opensUse opensuSe opensusE openSuSE opensuse opensuSE
openSUse and other variations, like: open SUSE, Open SUSE, etc, etc, etc
–
dd
Mageia 2, Xubuntu 12.04 and Debian Squeeze are distros on my laptop. The preference is 45%, 45% and 10% between these three.
Heard a lot of good things about Mageia but never really tried it. Will have to some day.
One thing that I find strange in the reviews is that large RAM usage is one of the biggest complaints towards 12.1 educational and you don’t emphasize it this much in 12.2 review even tough it uses even more 
Anyhow this complaint is a bit puzzling as even the cheapest tablets/smartphones nowadays have more than 512MB of RAM so I don’t see how that is an issue.
That very thought crossed my mind yesterday. The memory issue does seem to be a “nit-pick”, maybe not so if one is trying to run several virtual machines concurrently on a machine with memory constraint.
As a mainly KDE user, the 12.2 Gnome review interested me as I still have one Gnome 2 system (11.4) installed and so far avoided Gnome 3. Although I thought the review balanced, there was nothing enticing me to upgrade it for Gnome 3.
And you’re right in these thoughts (about balance and about upgrade both).
Yes, Mageia is a really good system. I like it from their Day 1, which was June 1, 2011.
Here is my review of Mageia 2 KDE, if you’re interested.
Mageia 2 KDE: first glance - Linux notes from DarkDuck
And an interview with one of their seniors:
I tried 12.2 Gnome liveCD in a netbook and was very impressed. With just a bit of learning it becomes very usable, besides being, well, pretty, something that previous versions were not, at least OOTB.
It’s not something I’d use in my 24" monitors, but for small screens it feels more than adequate. Many people say that with time Gnome’s limitations may become annoying, more so if you’re used to KDE’s plethora of easily accessible customizing options. But IMO for a new user it is easier than KDE, if not as familiar if you’re coming from windows.
Ref. the OP, I think most of his dissatisfaction is due to running from a liveCD, notoriously slow. Reviewers should install to a decent HD or SSD or abstain to comment on speed/memory performance.
Livecd uses more memory than the installed system due to ram fs type processes.
I have a Lenovo V470 - I recently upped its ram to 8 gig and I allocated 2 gig to opensuse 12.2; performance is very good. I am hesitant to go native with opensuse since I do not believe the V470 is linux compatible, so I play it safe and run a VM.
just an FYI: I had the same concern with my new Lenovo P580. The specs appear very similar to yours from what I read, (ex. the graphics card if you have the nvidia option).
I loaded 12.2 and ran it without issues OOTB.
Thanks for the tip! 12.1 really caused me headaches and several hours on the phone with Lenovo restoring the original system, but perhaps 12.2 solved all those. I also maintain a complete 64 bit Win. 7 VM waiting for the day I can reverse the host-guest ordering permanently!
Just wanted to post up and add my congratulations on a great release. I installed 12.2 Gnome 64 bit a few days ago, and have found it nothing less than amazing, with nary a hitch or a glitch. Trouble free. This to me justifies delaying the release.
I know common opinion is that openSUSE is a KDE distro, but I’ve always loved the Gnome edition, and since the move to Gnome 3 I don’t think anyone does it better. To me, 12.2 features the best Gnome 3 version yet, and is massively impressive. I love it. I think if people could get over the irrational flames going around for the Gnome project, they’d discover an amazing desktop. But anyway, that’s another thread.
Good luck for the future, and I hope openSUSE goes from strength to strength.