18 year user of Mickeysoft windoze, new user of Opensuse 11.1, VERY frustrated.
I FINALLY got Opensuse 11.1 installed on my spare laptop today, after dozens of checksum errors, not sure what did not install.
FIRST Question - Is it possible to turn off all the !@#$%^* password prompts? I check the Remember Password box, but still get prompts. If not, then I’m going back to windoze.
2nd question -
Opensuse apparently did not detect my Dynex DX-EBNBC PCMCIA network card. It found the built in network card that is defective tho.
I downloaded the linux drivers, and can see them in a folder, but cannot figure out how to install the drivers. They are not in an .RPM Package. The files I can see are:
copying.txt
dxe201.c
kern_compan.h
Makefile
In YaST, I found Network Devices / Network Settings, but when I click on Network Settings, I get the following message:
Warning!
Network is currently controlled by NetworkManager and it’s settings cannot be edited by YaST.
To Edit the Settings, use NetworkManager connection editor, or switch the network setup method to Traditional method with ifup.
I am weary of searching documentation and forums. Can someone PLEASE communicate via email with me on these issues?
I want to finally stop using windoze, but my experiences with different flavors of Linux have been all negative to date. I would even buy a copy if it were more novice / newbie friendly.
No, you can’t. They’re an integral part of the security subsystem, something that exists on every other platform than Windows.
The “remember password” dialog only remembers it for the “session” (for the instance which you launched - not for the login) - so if you close the YAST instance, for example, it will ask you for the password again. This is by design.
Hmm, not strictly true, you can turn passwords off, but not recommended especially for a new user!
You can add your user to a unique group, then let any user in that group run any command without a password.
Then if using KDE3 or KDE4 you can change the default super-user command to use sudo, and it will no longer ask for a password.
However, unless you have made other arrangements to secure your system, you really should listen to advice about not doing that.
The main reason Windows is so insecure is the fact that the user is allowed to do anything. Linux is not simply a version of Windows that is secure, it is completely different and you have to be willing to learn a whole new way of doing things.
Settle down, relax, take a deap breath and remind yourself why you are looking at getting away from Windows. Is it the insecurity? The virus problems? The malware/spyware problems?
Linux can help you there, but you will have to put some work into it.
Growbag - Thank you for the sage advice. I may wait until 11.2 is released, and buy the cd package. I had checksum issues installing from dvd download, but was able to get up & running. I did notice the new Opensuse mainpage today listing checksum “checkers”
I’ve never liked mickeysoft, and can recall all the hoopla when a “competitor” was supposed to release something to take them on… anyone remember the pre-release press coverage of IBM DOS?
From what I have read, Bill Gates was never a very good programmer (proof is in the software!), and supposedly bought the rights to the code for his original version of D.O.S… He was a brilliant marketing person tho.
I understand the security concerns being new to Linux / Opensuse. I was extremely frustrated with the install issues, then attempting to navigate Opensuse, THEN having to input passwords every time I attempted to do something.
Before checking out Opensuse, I looked into Ubuntu. The Ubuntu “bible” book was supposed to be for all levels of users, but it was completely geek to me.
Also, if it makes you feel any better, Linux tends to be a little spotty on laptops. Part of the problem is that, to keep weight and size down, laptops are somewhat notorious for using “win-gadgets” – winmodems, winpcmcia stuff, you name it. Simply put, the hardware is extremely simple and dumb, and requires a (Windows) driver to work.
That has been changing, thankfully, but you’ll still run across it now and then. Even when it’s not windows-specific hardware, though, you DO have to jump through some hoops. A few years back, I had to rebuild the PCMCIA drivers on the Toshiba Satellite that I was using at the time. On the other hand, my new HP/Compaq laptop loved OpenSuse. Sorry you’re having problems.
On the password issue: yes, Windoze is a lot easier about this. Yes, the password dialogs are intensely annoying at first. But eventually, it will dawn on you: a virus or trojan would need that password to do anything really bad to your system as well … which is one (of many) reasons why Linux is far more secure than Windoze.
You can, by the way, set up the desktop to auto-login. That at least eliminates the user name and password just to get to your GUI. If you’re interested, post back and someone will show you how to set that up (it’s easy).
