I collect old computers and broken ones like poor, sad little orphans, and fix them up. Since the early aughts, I’ve been running Ubuntu/Debian based systems and have been very happy with them. Yet I remember when one could buy Opensuse in the bookstore and almost bought it a few times. I’m German/American, Doppelte stattsangorigkeit, and running Opensuse is a bit like buying a Volkswagen for me. Decided to try Tumbleweed. I’ve already replaced Ubuntu on three of my systems. Two with Plasma and my favorite old laptop (32 bit) with XFCE Tumbleweed (which had been running Antix).
There’s a bit of a learning curve, and there have also been annoying searches for obscure dependencies that Ubuntu just has (like for installing Solaar), but if Tumbleweed remains relatively stable, the trade off will be worth it. I’ve used Snapper several times (abandoned Tumbleweed repos that should be removed or accidentally installing Leap repos) and I am now a firm convert to BTRFS and Snapper. If I can get off the Ubuntu treadmill for a relatively stable rolling release, it will be worth it.
I do notice that third party support for Opensuse is iffy. Would be nice if Spotify offered RPMs but EasyRPM seems to be a good solution so long as it’s maintained. I’ve had to install one AppImage when even the RPM download ran into unresolvable dependency problems. If there’s a real weakness to OpenSuse, that’s it; but, so far, I’ve been able to install everything on Opensuse that I used on Ubuntu apart from some fringe PPAs that I can live without. If my Opensuse installs hold up until Ubuntu 22.04 is released, I might switch everything to Tumbleweed rather than install Ubuntu yet again (not that I don’t like or appreciate Ubuntu).
Welcome to openSUSE - though you could never buy openSUSE; that was SUSE before openSUSE was launched (though at first there was a mailorder option for people without a decent Internet connection). Apart from software which is part of SUSE, everything in openSUSE has to be maintained by a volunteer. So the availability of a particular program may not depend on a policy of openSUSE but on a willing volunteer. For example, LXQt is available because a volunteer is prepared to maintain it.
SUSE is one of the original distributors of Linux and so has developed its own ways of doing things which are different from other distributions both because of history and because SUSE/openSUSE is available for everything from a mainframe to a Raspberry Pi.
Right. I joined at SuSE 7.0 and had to realize Linux without a flatrate isn’t all the fun - although I could use my double ISDN channels and login to university server for free at the weekend. I actually bought a couple of “professional” versions - to support the distro and in hope of getting support. But whenever I came round needing it - my support term had already expired. Later on I had to skip that due to lack of time. Buying a box and installing it while the next version is on didn’t make sense.
I do have to admit, when I searched for “a Linux” I could install on my computer I was quite happy to find a German company providing such a distro. That just felt reassuring when everything else seemed to happen in Silicon Valley and someplace in Washington State. So I just got stuck, never regretted it. I can’t, however, compare it to other distros nor join any such discussion…:quiet:
I have run into many troubles - mostly always got out fine - I have never sworn as much as I do when I have to deal with that stuff from Redmond.
One of my favorite memories is my old no-name flatbed scanner on parallel port was working much better with xsane than with its original software on W98. I just had to tell sane it was a Mustek which it wasn’t - at least at the outside.
Now I’m actually enjoying the stable Leap releases. Upgrading once a year lost its perils because a) it got very convenient and reliable with zypper dup and b) thanks to btrfs and snapper. That has saved my hiney many times, already. rotfl!
I am new to openSUSE the last few weeks, and I’m interested in EasyRPM. Do you know where I can find it? I like the idea of having something to convert .deb to .rpm if an .rpm is not available. I am really liking openSUSE so far as well. Thanks
IMHO you better ask a technical question in one of the (the best fitting) technical help sections here. This is General Chit-chat, a section that on one side is used by members for some talking, but is avoided by others that are here to help in the technical sense and want to avoid, well, general chit-chat.
I’ve already used it numerous times. That might be mainly because I’m still feeling my way around Opensuse, but I’m sold. It’s BTRFS and Snapper for me, no matter the distro.
Apart from SUSE-specific software, everything in openSUSE must be maintained by volunteers. As a result, the availability of a particular programme may not be contingent on an openSUSE policy, but rather on a willing volunteer. LXQt, for example, is available because someone is willing to maintain it.
Later on I had to skip that due to lack of time. Buying a box and installing it while the next version is on didn’t make sense.