“SUSE 9 offers a superb printed manual, a great installation interface, a modern KDE system in addition to the more standard, older GNOME interface, and a new kernel build. It’s easy to see why Novell thought enough of the software to buy the company” says InternetWeek in their review.
Review: SUSE 9.0: A Distro Worth Paying For
About The Author
Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
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At the time i thought redhat 5.2 was worth buying maybe thats just me. Got my moneis worth it ran a sendmail server on a P133 for close to two years running 120 days straight after such time i would reboot it just becasue. My question is for $90 how much bloat and useless programs am i getting? The last time i messed with Suse(Sparc version) it installed about 10 dummy users in the password file for various applications that i never used. That was a real turn off. I am sure it is better about that now?
My question is for $90 how much bloat and useless programs am i getting?
Define bloat ?
If you don’t like bloat buy the Home version. Plenty of others like to install from cd disk any app and dependency they want to try.
Don’t like too much default software ? choose minimal install and then install only the packages you like.
About that dummy users you never needed, AFAIK all distributions I tried create those users for things like apache, sql processes, etc.
Maybe you were just trolling or having the psichological attack of “not created here”.
For some reason, SuSEWatcher, the little applet that turns red if there are updates (a la Red Hat’s RHN applet), doesn’t run in GNOME’s system tray (a.k.a. notification area). That hardly made sense to me; the systray spec is common between KDE and GNOME, and the RHN applet works in both GNOME and KDE. Seems like a dumb, ugly QA slip.
10 dummy users in the password file for various applications that i never used
That’s standard in most distros. And why are a few extra characters in a file a ‘turn off’? That’s fairly irrational.
Just because applications have dummy user entries in the passwd file doesn’t mean they are installed and/or running. It’s called ‘getting a system prepared for the installation of other services’.
It’s common practice because it’s a good way of enforcing security (among other things) by preventing anything other than an application (usually a server application) from modifying a particular set of files.
One more thing,
I just installed Ximian 2 on a suse 9 ftp installation (you don’t have to pay $90 to try the latest version). It looks pretty and fast !
(What I like most is the font rendering, the sans font looks exactly like the Mac OS X font).
i’m excited about novell putting resources into linux, but i think they should’ve saved themselves 200mil and just ‘funded’ fedora. the rh guys have built their distro around gnome(all the config tools,rhgb etc etc are all gtk/gnome), and novell have also invested in ximian, a gnome company. so i’m confused about their future strategy.
will suse use ximian gnome as it’s desktop? will they have config tools integrated with gnome?
it seems pointless to invest in two companies with separate directions.
i’ve tried suse, and didnt like it at all. the tools are ugly and the yast2 interface seems clunky.
Perhaps i am too picky seems like useless clutter to me. I can understand users like nobody and postfix. But if i recall the majority of the added users were not really necessary. I guess its just the wave of the future. Linux for the average user.
You can’t install a commercial distro like SUSE, Red Hat, Lindows, et al and expect not to have a lot junk and needless services running by the default.
There are other distros that afford you extreem customizability and flexibility and mind you, none of them are commercial distros. If you want to be in control, SUSE is not the distro to use.
Seriously, what’s the point of “reviewing” a distro w/out testing its native install/uninstall ports? I want to know if it’s as easy to update/install as Fedora/Libranet. I wish OSNews would set some standards for reviews.
I’ve been running SuSE 9.0 Pro since about 2 weeks after it’s release. It’s good, but not great. With some default configurations KDM will only load KDE even with GNOME selected very much like the bug Red Hat had years ago with GDM.
Also, the mysql rc script is terrible. For it to correctly detect mysql running you must have a mysql root password of nothing (or put a clear text password in the rc file) else it will always come up failed even though mysqld is running.
“SUSE 9 comes with KDE 3.1.4 and the older GNOME 2.2 desktop environments.”
The “older” enviroment, dont you think that is a little harsh? Whoever did the review doesn’t know what the are talking about. KDE isnt better than Gnome, it is just different. I personally use SuSE, and KDE, and I love it but it is not like Gnome is version 1 and KDE is version 2, no it is like Wordperfect and Word in the windows world. Apparantly this was done by a windows user that doesn’t know what they are talking about.
“The KDE interface offers one true advantage, though: it feels more like Windows (even offering a “Start” button) and Windows refugees will feel more immediately at home, with a plethora of Windowy desktop features.”
Gnome has the same start button yet again, it is just in the shape of a foot…
Man talk about a zealot!
“SUSE 9 comes with KDE 3.1.4 and the older GNOME 2.2 desktop environments.”
The “older” enviroment, dont you think that is a little harsh?
Hardly. SUSE could have opted to use the newer GNOME 2.4. That makes GNOME 2.2 older.
Gnome 2.2.2 was released ~10 July ’03
KDE 3.1.4 was released ~16 Sept ’03
So, it’s roughly 2 months older. Not enough to warrant calling it older I would say.
Novell knows how to get the job done.
Thanks Novell.
Suse will most likely use Gnome in the future.
i guess everything ran as root back then….or maybe you set it up that way.
now-a-days, there are standard accounts created for a variety of daemons/programs…so that very few things have to run as root.
it’s a turn off? (blech…another computer user with an emotional response…oh brother)
anyway…using a little cold objectivity will enable you to figure out that this is a benefit.
freebsd does it, all the distros i’ve used, do it.
you started an-uninteresting thread.
that’s not an opinion derived from an emotional response.
it’s a fact. (reread it if you have to)
SuSE’s got online updates via YaST, but the package offerings can be slim (no Mozilla Firebird?).
SuSE is awfully pretty, but I can’t say that I’m interested in a distro that I can’t just endlessly update. Debian and Gentoo let me do that.
in context: what novell has to do with suse 9.0.
8.2, 8.1, 8.0 were great too.
>> You’ll have no choice: the full distribution is not available for download (from the article)
No not full distro, just the 7 GB which SUSE are free to offer for free download (i.e. are not other companies proprietary software, e.g. Java).
>> and you’ll want the 400+ page manual
Do they mean the manual which is free to download?
SuSE’s got online updates via YaST, but the package offerings can be slim (no Mozilla Firebird?).
Interesting… I run the FTP installed (ie, FREE) version of SuSE 9 and when I run Yast I can find Firebird easily. Maybe you should look a bit harder.
Bleh. I’ve never liked SuSE, Mandrake or Yellowdog (PPC) are much better.
(Not “Trolling”, just an opinion, I have alot of friends out there who will actually spend the $90 🙂 )
L8R
I dunno if you go here you can use Apt for SUSE.. I use it to keep my system upto date. I am running gnome 2.4.?? and the kde beta’s for SUSE,, on SuSE 9.0.. if you want apt for SUSE go here: http://linux01.gwdg.de/apt4rpm/
ive upgrade from 8.0 this way (just as a test).. I always buy the latest version only because i like yast,,, person preference
the have a graphical apt tool called synaptic there as well..
Sorry to double post.. I should wait for the coffee to kick in before trying to type
type the following into Google:
Firebird suse-9 rpm … maybe even “download” — took me like 2 seconds to get custom Suse 9 rpm back then. If this is too difficult, then… you know the answer.
>>Suse will most likely use Gnome in the future<<
You’re probably right, but I *hope* you’re wrong.
If they’re smart Suse will keep up both Gnome and KDE, otherwise they’ll be losing an awful lot of customers who detest Gnome.
I’m pretty sure that Suse is smart, but I don’t know about Novell! 😉
I use Mozilla Firebird (0.7) myself; you just have to download it from Mozilla’s site and untar it to, say, /opt/MozillaFirebird. It works great and the fonts are the best in any browser available for SuSE – in fact, they are one of the main reasons I stay with this distro.
But there is a RPM of Firebird 0.6 on the disks, but I didn’t bother to try it.
why don’t they charge 20 dollars with no support and say 60 with support? 90/100/etc is too much (windows is like 120)
If you find Gnome 2.2 too old, You can find 2.4 RPMs on the SuSE website.
why is is that they need to charge like 90 bucks?
SuSE 9.0 Pro retails for $64.99 (with free shipping) at Amazon.com.
with SUSE or RH, you got a set of GUI to take control sytem and it slows down in responsiveness. it further slows down your strenght, your skills of CLI system admin (unless you dun care much of GUI). Moreover, SUSE/RH contain complex scripts compared with slackware.
Slackware is so simplicity and responsiveness. this is not a troll quote, many use slackware and have the same conclusion. Yet CLI makes annoying you a bit. Once you r more familiar with it, never say goodbye.
Lost sleep one night with her slackware. Love her all life 🙂
oh i am very bias to talk about it, but actually I was switcher from RH->SUSE->RH-> slackware->stop here
It was a PITA to get wireless networking on Suse 9.0 pro. IMO this is a serious bug…
That alone says lots about this ‘wonderful’ $90 distro…
*Xandros professional* works like a charm right out of the box.
>>why don’t they charge 20 dollars with no support and say >>60 with support? 90/100/etc is too much (windows is like >>120)
with windows you buy one copy an can install it on one machine. with suse you buy one copy and can install it on infite machines. So even if suse was $239 it would still be cheaper than windows if you had two computers or more computers at home. (Notice I didn’t say ‘better’ because hat is a subjective term)
aren’t you supposed to be doing something useful? Like attacking another 3rd world country? That’s what my taxes pay for…get off the internet and do your damned job.
RE: D.Ph Slackers
I think it would be a good thing if Slackware would package more gui tools (3rd party or otherwise) in it’s distro. That’s not the problem. The problem (as you stated) is Debian, redhat, whoever, tends to make these non-standard, complex scripts and put them in wherever. That’s why I chose Slackware after popping in Knoppix to see what kind of XFree86-4 config it would give me. I hate having to configure XFree86-4 and Knoppix knew how configure my wireless mouse and touchpad. Actually, I had installed Knoppix and did a apt-get upgrade to Sid and it booted me into a German KDE. I guess I just don’t like the way debian has to debianize everything and in my experience apt-get upgrades breaks a lot of the time. Note, I wouldn’t even use Slackware if it wasn’t for Swaret though.
RE: Wireless
Wireless on any linux distro is going to be a pain in the ass because you have to be very picky about what card you pick. Many wireless cards don’t even have linux drivers, binaries or otherwise. Mine has a linux driver(Linkysys WC411, but you have to compile it around a proprietary binary(ala Nvidia drivers), and it was a PITA to get working. It doesn’t work with any kernel above 2.4.21(ugh). Many people have been using that wrapper around windows drivers that cost $20. They seem to work well. Fortunately, http://www.linuxquestions.org has a 40 page thread on my wireless card, so that was a huge help. Thanks linux community!