Through the ages...

+openSUSE 12.3 is out now. Sooner rather than later users should upgrade. Getting ready to do so it took me some time to locate my burnable DVDs. And I guess DVDs as a technology is already obsolete, really? Why not go all USB/flash?

Times have changed. The habit of keeping the previous install DVD to be ready for a reinstall or lending it out easily or even a downgrade has led to a habit of keeping a minor collection of install DVDs. And even some CDs. Below is a walk down memory lane with old install disks. A walk I will probably not be able to take in the DVD-less future.

I believe my first distribution was a Red Hat. That disk has gone to the great incinerator.

Knoppix 3.6 live CD, August 2004.

SUSE Linux 9.2, kernel 2.6.8, October 2004.

I started using Linux as a means to salvage data from crashed Microsoft Windows installs. Not from ideology, not from wanting to geek out. From necessity and buggy competition. One day I created a partition and installed Linux on the drive in stead of just booting with a live CD. And one day I realized I'd started using the computer from the Linux system much more often than from the Windows system.

SUSE Linux 10.1, kernel 2.6.16, May 2006.

OpenSUSE 10.2, kernel 2.6.18, December 2006.

OpenSUSE 10.3 64 bit, kernel 2.6.22, October 2007.At the time running 64 bit required a few workarounds.

The next couple of upgrades I ran from DVDs that came with the LINUX Format magazine. I liked to sit back and read a reassuring article about what was about to happen to the system. Also, downloading 4 GB of data was not exactly commonplace a decade ago.

Apparently I couldn't wait for openSUSE 11 and installed a release candidate. As far as I remember it ran just fine.

OpenSUSE 11.0, kernel 2.6.25, July 2008.

One thing I have learned about the "Bible" series of Linux books is that they are not bibles. But the overwhelming weight of irrelevant information is strangely comforting.

From that point on I started downloading new releases using peer-to-peer and always sharing. I guess uploading hundreds of copies of install DVDs is now my main contribution to the community.

openSUSE 11.1, kernel 2.6.27, December 2008.

openSUSE 11.2, kernel 2.6.31, November 2009. As of writing this release is still supported.

openSUSE 11.3, kernel 2.6.34, July 2010. I had major problems with my dual screen and resigned to whining about it. Interestingly, this release is no longer supported.

openSUSE 11.4, kernel 2.6.37, March 2011.Perhaps feeling guilty over my 11.3 related whine I praised this release for being awesome as well as beautifully fixing exactly the issued I'd had.

I believe it was due to a bad review I hesitated installing 12.1.  Why risk anything when 11.4 was still awesome. Hesitation led to abstinence and suddenly 12.2 was out.

openSUSE 12.2, kernel 3.4, September 2012.

We're in the now, now. Except YaST has painlessly upgraded the system to kernel 3.4.33, KDE 4.8.5 and IcedTea Java which once again I've had to replace with Sun Java in order to actually use it.

Welcome to the very near future. The new release has been burnt to my very last writable DVD. Perhaps my last install DVD ever. Except if I actually go out and buy more disks for burning which I guess there really is no need for here in the future?

openSUSE 12.3, kernel 3.7, March 2013.

Dear openSUSE: Your 11.4 release is great. Thanks a lot!

Dear openSUSE,

Your 11.4 release is great. Thanks a lot!

I must admit I still feel a mixture of guilt and annoyance after the 11.3 release. Falling into a category of users you hadn't thought of, on one hand I need dual screen settings and on the other hand I decided not to invest the time in fixing it myself. In stead I created this blog to rant about such issues.

Consequently, I have felt guilt for seven months. For exposing your tiny little flaw to a wider audience than the forums.opensuse.org users. For not really helping out by trying to work around my issue myself and then sharing my experience. This time I chose an option I so often have scorned when chosen by others: whining.

Anyway, you may have even bettered automatic graphics handling now, more drivers hopefully went opensource in the mean time, installing proprietary drivers may be easier by now et cetera. But I just inserted the 11.4 DVD and clicked “update”. And lo and behold: you now have a “Save as Default” button in your resolution settings menu, not just an “apply” button like in 11.3. Allow me to forget about ATI driver downloads, fglrx and init 3 for a while.

"Size & Orientation" window in "Display and Monitor" system settings. Now with one vital button more!

Now, while logging on, the resolution of my screens change to my desired settings by themselves. Life quality, right there. And don't get me wrong: I'm not leaving you or opensource behind at all. I still regularly have to wonder how Microsoft Windows got so bogged down at work, what salvation Apple fans feel from their overpriced gadgets and generally why people continue to be so ignorant.

The handling of double screen setups in openSUSE is now – hands down – better than in Windows (doing it occationally elsewhere). The desktop graphics and functionality can easily compete or outdo Windows and Mac. And I didn't do any reading or consulting of websites at all to make this work.

To top it off, you shipped 11.4 with Firefox 4.0 beta 12. I was surprised to see beta software in a standard setup – but thanks for that too. I'm not the guy who have been ranting about browser speeds because in my experience browsers are slow when their users are idiots. But I must say Firefox 4 is significantly faster than both the previous version and the Chrome I'm running on the Mac. Has a couple of other improvements too. It didn't crash or cause any sort of problem for me yet. Even if it did I'll be fine (band-aid in the back pack kind of guy) and first of all I appreciate you took me to the bleeding edge again.

[Technical notes: Most users will probably be happier with their openSUSE after a visit to the openSUSE Community Wiki page on restricted formats. Also, once again sound disappeared for me on the first boot but a visit to YaST's hardware section and an experiment or two with the audio settings fixed that too. Note that some or all of my issues may actually be KDE issues, not actually caused by openSUSE.]

Final note: someone else did a video review of openSUSE 11.4 RC2:

Upgrading software: jokes, cash and YaST vs App Store

"An update is available for your computer" found at Geekosystem / Sticky Comics.

Of course I shelled out the ~ 20 euros to upgrade iMovie and iPhoto from 2009 to 2011 versions. Took me some time and the closing of quite a few in-program upgrade advertising popup windows to take the step. But my rants should be about current software versions. Meanwhile we're waiting for the next entirely free release of SUSE: openSUSE 11.4.

To the credit of Apple it must be said App Store is very easy to use. Brings a smile to your face watching the animated installs while thinking back to the times of running virus prone .exe files, searching the net for needed drivers and reinstalling when bugs had accumulated. In that respect Apple App Store and YaST are actually quite similar: open, search, select, install. Biggest difference is YaST tells you which other software must be installed to get your selection working, App Store probably charges you some money in the process.

But using the App Store requires an account there (I actually - unsuccessfully - went to IRL physical shops to look for an iLife DVD). Now that I got it I'm taking the opportunity to run Genious and Ping in iTunes; probably comparable to the Last.fm integration in Amarok? The opportunity to have Apple scan my computer for media files and send back a report - couldn't miss that! A quick tour through these AI/social plugins gives me the impression of a scam and the impulse to turn on Amarok again. Less functionality, too many links to purchases, works from inside iTunes only. Possibly subjects of future rants.

Dear openSUSE: Your 11.3 display settings doesn't do it for me

Dear openSUSE,

Upgrading from 11.2 to 11.3 went very smooth it seemed. (Except the little detail about you turning down the sound volume in alsamixer. That one wasn't nice of you.). But then I experienced black blocks of graphics from out of nowhere - not acceptable.

I figured the easiest way would be to reinstall the graphics card driver so I downloaded a fresh one from ATI. Seems the OS update did ruin something - now I can no longer build the fglrx-whatever.rpm? Careful studies at your ATI drivers wiki page did help and I now have a file called fglrx64_7_5_0_SUSE113-8.762-1.x86_64.rpm taking up 28.4 MB of space on my harddisk. It doesn't do much else because attempting to install it will result in a boot to some init 3 / console like state where "X can't be found" (something like that). Building and installing the proprietary (and fully functional) driver is something I have done "the hard way" with five or six previous versions.

Although in general I could probably study your anatomy in closer detail and should perhaps more specifically read through some online guide about your display settings configuration files I must admit to being disgruntled after having had to now completely reinstall you. Twice. On top of the update. Because even though I have taken backups of your xorg.conf files and have tried to put them back in place when the new ones didn't work - that haven't helped either.

I'm failing you as a geek, I know. But reinstalling has been my fix for your display problems. And perhaps you'll understand me when I tell you I had enough? Three times is enough for me. My interest in computers increasingly lies in actually using them, you know. And, believe it or not, now I simply find it easier to fix your display settings using KDE... every single time I log on because a) you boot in 1024x768 (low) resolution, b) obviously the changes made there are temporary and c) you have removed the configuration tool (sax2) now your automatic configuration works so well at install (sic!).

Now, I know I'm not running you on the easiest of hardware - dual screen, different resolutions - but still: It worked perfectly in 11.2, it's all common brands and recent models. Plus I am so much more tolerant and patient with you than most others. You should start figuring out how to make yourself attractive to the average guy. Because you and I could be drifting apart, baby.

How to change the display settings in openSUSE 11.3 / KDE 4.4.4

1. Click the openSUSE gecko (green "start" button) then Configure Desktop - Personal Settings (tools icon).
2. Click on Display (screen icon).
3. Change the Size setting(s) to your preferred resolution. Most likely it is marked with the text (auto) -although it obviously isn't that automatic after all.
   
   
   
   
   
   

   

   The display settings I happen to desperately need.

4. Click Apply.
5. Confirm the settings within 15 seconds by clicking Accept Configuration (unless you made a mistake and can't accept).
   
   
   
   
   

   

   If you don't see this just wait 15 seconds and things will go back to normally bad.

6. Repeat at every single login :-(

[Technical notes: I have been messing around with two common Samsung screens, an ATI Technologies Radeon HD 4770, ati-driver-installer-10-8-x86.x86_64.run and the standard open source radeon driver.]

PS: Yes, I consider going through some of the procedures described at the Configuring graphics cards wiki page. But just from peeking at it I sure understand why most would never consider this an option!

[Edit March 2011: Story continues at Dear openSUSE: Your 11.4 release is great. Thanks a lot!]