Testing 12.1 - recommended also for low-knowledge users?

English Open Chat
1

Hi,

in the last few days, there were some news that openSUSE 12.1 has reached its 5th milestone and that users are invited to test, although it is not recommended to use 12.1m5 as production system.

So now I am thinking about using it on my desktop, but I am not really sure. That´s why I would like to ask for recommendations…

pro:

  • I am curious to see what 12.1 brings in terms of new stuff
  • I want to report bugs and with that contribute to the development

con:

  • I want to use it on my desktop. Means: it will run every day for different purposes. So I will have trouble, I guess. But on the other hand, this is how the final release also will be treated and if issues occur, they can be fixed

So what is your experience? How is 12.1m5 in terms of stability? Is it very shaky? Can I use all the stuff, like Skype, Nvidia-driver, Brother Printer drivers on it, as if it was a final release? How is the reporting of bugs? Is there an automated tool, or do I need to report every bug manually on bugzilla?

Thanks!
Steffen

2

Most posts on openSUSE 12.1 are located here:

Pre-Release/Beta

There is a page here with bug reports on the new release.

openSUSE:Most annoying bugs 12.1 dev - openSUSE

I have installed openSUSE 12.1 M5 into VirtualBox where it is working just fine for me, but its still beta in my view, so be careful.

Thank You,

3

Testing is usually done on machines where you don’t have to care for data loss etc, either virtual machines or a spare computer.

My advice: install some virtualization program and test inthere, or create a separate partition and dual boot with your existing install (whether you share /home between the two of them is up to you).

4

I installed in an alternate partition on my laptop. I started with a clean home directory. I use it for activities that don’t require access to my usual files. For example, I use it to remote login to other systems, or to check webmail or browse the web.

Reports are that there are problems with the nvidia driver. I tried booting the live CD on my desktop (which uses nvidia), and it did not fully boot - probably the nvidia driver (nouvea) issues. I didn’t pursue that, since I had work to do on my desktop and didn’t want to take the time loading drivers.

Otherwise, it is mostly fine in terms of stability. In gnome-3, the “system info” applet won’t load. NetworkManager is a bit annoying, in that it requires the root password for almost anything. But otherwise, things are fine. I have not tried Skype or a printer.

Serious bugs should probably be reported to bugzilla.

5

hmm the only hardware around here is with nvidia… so I think its better to leave it, as I don´t know how to cope with this.

6

Your input is needed for a description, expected behavior and how to recreate the problem. At this time, these are things that can’t be provided automagically.