OpenSUSE
It’s a well known fact that if you want a usable linux distribution, you download Ubuntu. Whether you’re a system admin looking for a server environment that’s effortless to update or an “average joe” looking for a cheap alternative to the commercial operating systems; (cue corny advertising voice) the canonical team have a solution for you!
However, like many IT pro’s, I like to investigate alternatives and try new things. This curiosity led me to download OpenSUSE recently and I was pleasantly surprised by what I swiftly had installed.
The 650MB “live-CD” is based on SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop (SLED) and is actively developed by Novell, in partnership with an ever-growing community. The contributions of a commercial entity are noticeable, particularly in the User Interface - applications are very easy to find and most of the settings are modified with assistance from an accompanying wizard. In fact, OpenSUSE is the first distribution that I’ve used without having to touch the terminal.
Like any other variation of Linux, OpenSUSE is not without its’ share of “issues”. Because I installed it as a Parallels virtual machine, networking should be seen as a standard ethernet connection - and it is. However, the system does not seem to automatically connect itself like many every other operating system; I am forced to select “Wired Network” from the networking menubar-item, every time I login.
Once I got my head around this small quirk, I opened Firefox and clicked on the “Novell” bookmark - as a test - only to discover that Novell’s own website requires Flash, which is not included in the default install of OpenSUSE. Yes, I understand that as a piece of “Free” software the developers are reluctant to include proprietary plugins anything, but it sure doesn’t look good - from a “user” perspective - if the developers’ own website isn’t compatible with their products.
My final gripe isn’t relegated to OpenSUSE alone - in just about every *nix-based system I have ever tested, font-rendering has been well below the industry standard. As with the flash issue, this has a lot to do with Linux’s aversion to using proprietary fonts and the substitutions simply lack the spit-n-polish that you get from commercial typefaces. But, I believe this is really only a small part of a much deeper issue.
Behind almost every Linux interface is a windowing system known as “X” and my suspicions are that the poor typesetting and anti-aliasing can be directly attributed to this system - and not so much the typefaces themselves.
From a practical stand-point, some might argue that supposed “poor” anti-aliasing is a pithy point and hardly worth the mention. To that my reply would be: “Have you seen OS X or Windows Vista lately?“. The industry is clearly moving towards more eye-pleasing visuals and subtle animation to enhance the experience - so why not Linux???
In OpenSUSE’s defense, I should point out that included, is an animation system, which I assume is enabled on hardware that supports it (not mine however). I also really like the general look and feel of OpenSUSE - the icons, colour-scheme and placement of GUI elements make the entire operating system feel welcoming and finessed. But, on closer inspection (and I mean “face up to the screen” closer) the dithering looks quite chunky and that typesetting issue raises the alarm-bells once again.
Graphics issues aside, I honestly believe that my mother, who is barely computer literate, could install and use this Linux distribution with little trouble. Clearly the community behind this operating system have been working hard to make it inviting and easy to use - and if anyone ever comes up with a better windowing engine than X, I’m sure Linux will be well on its’ way to destroying the evil empires (Microwho???).
Overall, I am very impressed with OpenSUSE and as a result it has climbed its’ way to the top of my “favourite linux distro’s” list. Unfortunately, it hasn’t amassed the strength to reef me from the clutches of cupertino - though vista’s smooth skin and easy smile has stolen my stair once or twice in recent times. Perhaps Ubuntu’s “Hardy Heron” (due out in April) will be not just a credible opponent for the Green Chameleon, but a worthy platform for even this most fussy of power-users - we shall soon see.
