OpenSUSE 11 has some major new features. How cliche does that sound? Woo woo, look at my shiny new toy. We’ve all heard that with every release since the beginning of time. But could I just borrow your ear for a second (maybe an eyeball or two)? There have been some SPECTACULAR distribution releases this year, such as Ubuntu 8.04 and Fedora 9. The KDE desktop is developing quickly with the new KDE4 finally available.
What am I trying to say here? I could hardly stop smiling as I went through my new OpenSUSE 11.0 installation. Watch a kid’s face going on a DisneyLand ride for the first time. That was me as I was looking around in OpenSUSE 11.0. Truly biased words of a Linux zealot, you say. Come on, don’t rain on my parade. I’m telling you, you will LOVE this!
Make it interesting, and get to it, I hear you saying.
OK, time to play the “bullet list” card, then. Here is a list (not comprehensive) of the major features and upgrades available in OpenSUSE 11:
- The OpenSUSE installer is beautiful, just beautiful
- The installer is also a lot faster
- You install OpenSUSE from a LiveCD or DVD. This makes the experience so much nicer. Much more new-user friendly, especially.
- KDE 4 is the default for the DVD installer - see new eyecandy including Oxygen and Plasma (very slick)
- KDE 3.5 is still available, and even runs in parallel with KDE 4, if you wish
- Gnome 2.22 has some major improvements
- Even XFCE is offered
- Install them all and experience the joy
- How about wine!? From what I can see, 1.0rc3 will be included
- All sorts of compiz fusion developments. In addition to the cube, you can now do a cylinder and sphere
- The package management has taken several leaps forward. It is much, much (did I mention much?) faster
- YAST front-end improvements for usability (always a nice thing)
- zypper benefits from the package management performance, and has many upgrades of its own
- Ships with Firefox 3.0 beta 5
- OpenOffice 2.4 - apparently supports the MS Office 2007 docx format *backflips, please*
- NetworkManager - this version supports EV-DO and UMTS cards! Total coolness.
- Linux Kernel 2.6.25
- PackageKit - provides security updates and patches, resides in the system tray
- Tasque - interfaces with the Remember the Milk online service - sync your task list across multiple machines
- Almost all packages have version upgrades since 10.3
- More than 200 new features specific to OpenSUSE
As always, there are a bunch of installation repositories that you’ll want to at least be aware of. I have put together a script to add them to openSUSE 11.0 for you. Please do not just run the script. Go through and remove the ones you do not need. Do not add them all.
#!/bin/bash if [ "$EUID" != "0" ]; then echo "You must have root privileges to run this script!" exit 1 fi printf "################################################################################\n" printf "YAST INSTALLATION SOURCES SETUP SCRIPT FOR openSUSE 11.0\n" printf "by Scott Morris (2008-06-18)\n" printf "http://www.suseblog.com/\n\n" printf "You *MUST* be connected to the Internet for this script to work!\n\n" printf "################################################################################\n" rpm --import http://dev.computergmbh.de/844C4360.key rpm --import http://download.nvidia.com/novell/repodata/repomd.xml.key rpm --import http://packman.unixheads.com/suse/10.2/gpg-pubkey-1abd1afb.asc zypper ar http://download.nvidia.com/opensuse/11.0/ "NVidia" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/distribution/11.0/repo/non-oss/ "openSUSE Non-OSS" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/distribution/11.0/repo/oss/ "openSUSE OSS" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/Apache/openSUSE_11.0/ "Apache" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/Application:/Geo/openSUSE_11.0/ "Geo" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/Banshee/openSUSE_11.0/ "Banshee" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/devel:/languages:/erlang/openSUSE_11.0/ "erlang" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/devel:/languages:/haskell/openSUSE_11.0/ "haskell" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/devel:/languages:/perl/openSUSE_11.0/ "perl" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/devel:/languages:/prolog/openSUSE_11.0/ "prolong" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/devel:/languages:/python/openSUSE_11.0/ "python" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/devel:/languages:/smalltalk/openSUSE_11.0/ "smalltalk" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/devel:/libraries:/c_c++/openSUSE_11.0/ "c - c++" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/devel:/tools:/building/openSUSE_11.0/ "building" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/devel:/tools:/gcc/openSUSE_11.0/ "gcc" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/devel:/tools/openSUSE_11.0/ "tools" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/devel:/tools:/scm/openSUSE_11.0/ "scm" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/Education:/desktop/openSUSE_11.0/ "openSUSE BuildService Education - Desktop" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/Education:/server/openSUSE_11.0/ "openSUSE BuildService Education - Server" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/Emulators/openSUSE_11.0/ "Emulators" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/Emulators:/Wine/openSUSE_11.0/ "openSUSE BuildService - Wine" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/games/openSUSE_11.0/ "Games" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/GNOME:/Community/openSUSE_11.0/ "Gnome Community" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/GNOME:/STABLE/openSUSE_11.0/ "Gnome Stable" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/hamradio/openSUSE_11.0/ "ham radio" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/KDE:/Backports/openSUSE_11.0/ "KDE3 Backports" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/KDE:/Community/openSUSE_11.0 "KDE3 Community" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/KDE:/KDE3/openSUSE_11.0/ "openSUSE BuildService - KDE3" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/KDE:/KDE4:/STABLE:/Community/openSUSE_11.0/ "openSUSE BuildService - KDE 4 Community" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/KDE:/KDE4:/STABLE:/Desktop/openSUSE_11.0/ "openSUSE BuildService - KDE 4 Desktop" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/KDE:/KDE4:/STABLE:/Extra-Apps/openSUSE_11.0/ "openSUSE BuildService - KDE 4 Extra-Apps" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/Mono:/Community/openSUSE_11.0/ "Mono Community" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/Mono:/Community/openSUSE_11.0+Mono/ "Mono Community+" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/Mono/openSUSE_11.0/ "Mono" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/mozilla/openSUSE_11.0/ "Mozilla" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/multimedia:/audio/openSUSE_11.0/ "Audio" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/multimedia:/photo/openSUSE_11.0/ "Photo" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/net-snmp/openSUSE_11.0/ "net-snmp" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/Novell:/NTS/openSUSE_11.0/ "Novell NTS" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/NX/openSUSE_11.0/ "NX" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/OpenOffice.org:/EXTRAS/openSUSE_11.0/ "OpenOffice.org Extras" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/OpenOffice.org:/STABLE/openSUSE_11.0/ "OpenOffice" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/OpenSync:/OpenSync-0.3x/openSUSE_11.0/ "OpenSync" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/qfix/openSUSE_11.0/ "qfix" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/science/openSUSE_11.0/ "science" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/server:/database:/postgresql/openSUSE_11.0/ "Postgres" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/server:/php:/applications/openSUSE_11.0/ "PHP Applications" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/server:/php:/extensions/openSUSE_11.0/ "PHP Extensions" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/Subversion/openSUSE_11.0/ "subversion" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/swamp/openSUSE_11.0/ "swamp" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/telepathy/openSUSE_11.0/ "Telepathy" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/vdr/openSUSE_11.0/ "vdr" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/X11:/xfce/openSUSE_11.0/ "XFCE" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/X11:/XGL/openSUSE_11.0/ "XGL" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/X11:/XOrg/openSUSE_11.0/ "openSUSE BuildService - XOrg & Compiz Fusion" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/XML/openSUSE_11.0/ "XML" zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/update/11.0/ "Update" zypper ar http://download.videolan.org/pub/vlc/SuSE/11.0 "VideoLAN" zypper ar http://ftp5.gwdg.de/pub/linux/misc/suser-jengelh/SUSE-11.0/ "suser-j.engelh" zypper ar http://madwifi.org/suse/11.0/ "Madwifi" zypper ar http://packman.unixheads.com/suse/11.0/ "Packman" yes | zypper ref printf "\nThe script has now finished. Congratulations\n"
There’s the script for ya’ll who copy and paste. Don’t forget to “chmod +x” it. If the copy and paste thing doesn’t work for you, download and use the script from the link above.
These install sources will not refresh automatically. To turn that feature on, you’ll have to do it manually in YAST.
Sometimes, you want the very latest bleeding-edge version of a package. YAST may not find the version you seek. Even with the above repositories added. You may find it, however, in the openSUSE Build Service. Go to that page, search for the package you need, click the 1-click install button next to the version you would like installed. For example, using the software repositories listed above, the most recent version of pidgin that I see is 2.4.2-4.1. However, using the Build Service, I found one that is version 2.4.2-10.4.
For different methods of installing software in openSUSE 11.0, check out an article I wrote about a week ago, called How many ways can you install an RPM in OpenSUSE Linux?
Product Highlights of openSUSE 11.0 - gives a general description of some of the main package updates
Sneak Peeks at openSUSE 11.0 - a series of interviews and insights revolving around changes and improvements in openSUSE 11.0
Guide to openSUSE 11.0 - A general description of improvements in openSUSE 11.0
openSUSE 11.0 Screenshots - you cannot miss these gorgeous screenshots
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/18/open_suse_11_review/ - a third-party review of openSUSE 11.0
changes in zypper in openSUSE 11.0
Things to do after installing openSUSE 11.0 - how to pimp out your new installation. Skip the “Setting up repositories” part if you’ve used my script to set them up for you.
openSUSE Forums - if you should get stuck with anything, start here
openSUSE 11.0 Package List - the entire package list for openSUSE 11.0
There are loads of improvements with OpenSUSE 11.0. The package management is unbelievably fast. They have done a great job with the new algorithms that make it absolutely fly. The new Oxygen icon theme and the Plasma desktop shell catch the eye and are sure to impress. Things are much easier to use than they have ever been before. It’s the perfect time to download an image and give it a whirl. With this release, it is no longer possible to say that Linux is hard to use. If you are using Windows, especially XP, you are about to get the boot from Microsoft. Why not take a look at a nicely-polished, well-done Linux distribution?
For the apprehensive, I have a free “Intro to Linux Course” on my OpenSUSE Linux Blog on the left side.
If you want the Addon CD, Gnome LiveCD, KDE LiveCD, or the network install CD, you can get those for i386, x86_64, and ppc from here: openSUSE 11.0 CD ISOs. PLEASE use mirrors where possible!
Deltas for all of the above plus the DVD images for i386, x86_64, and ppc are available from here: openSUSE 11.0 deltas. PLEASE use mirrors where possible!
Looking for the DVD ISOs for the i386, x86_64, and ppc architectures? Get those here: openSUSE 11.0 DVD ISOs. PLEASE use mirrors where possible!
Torrents for the CD and DVD images are also available here: openSUSE 11.0 torrents.
