I downloaded the OpenSUSE 10.3 DVD to test it out and compare it with Mandriva 2008.0. I was interested in reviewing the current state of this distribution and maybe also get some inspiration for improvements I can propose for Mandriva 2008.1.
The artwork in OpenSUSE is very nice. There are some interesting ideas we should really consider in Mandriva: possibility to read the release notes during the installation of packages, some interesting yast modules (the firwall module is way better than Mandriva’s),… But I discovered already a lot of problems by just quickly testing it out in Virtualbox: the installer (actually yast) just crashes completely when detecting the network configuration, there was no possibility to use a 1024×768 resolution in Virtualbox, some strange choices of default applications (especially in GNOME: Brasero is currently still a bit too buggy, and Skencil is extremely ugly),…
So currently I have a strong feeling that Mandriva 2008.0 will be a better and especially more stable distribution than OpenSUSE 10.3. I’ll continue testing out OpenSUSE a bit and noting my remarks, and I’ll probably install it on an old laptop I have here, to see how it works on real hardware. I’ll do the same with Mandriva 2008.0 and I’ll maybe post a review comparing Mandriva 2008.0 and OpenSUSE 10.3 (and maybe Ubuntu Gutsy too?). Well, time will tell.
By the time you read this, there is much chance that Mandriva 2008.0 final is out and downloadable. Go check the Mandriva download page now to check it out!
Interesting… I did install the Gnome CD of openSUSE 10.3, just because MDV 2088 was still not released. I dual-boot with F7.
SUSE took about 3 hours to install… It feels slower than Fedora, but with a faster boot…
I actually enjoy Brasero… What will the default Gnome Mandriva sport ? -Gnomebaker ?
I enjoyed the way SUse 10.3 handles the non-free stuff… One click for the codecs, and also very easy to add “community” repos… That would be great for Mandriva with the PLF repos, but I think it might be illegal… Too bad…
Anyway, I plan to wipe SUse for mandriva asap…
Hi.
The installation crashing (to me) sounds like a problem in your virtual environment. I have had Suse installation crash never in my years of using Suse, so to be completely fair about this, please try to reproduce this crash in actual environment.
The installation is actually pretty fast from DVD or from CD if you disable the fetching of updated and additional packages. The installer actually asks this at the begin, wether you want to include the online repositorys in the install process.
And I believe 1024×768 resolution for the installation is available, because that is what I used installing myself.