One thing I do not enjoy with openSuSE is how slowwwww YaST runs when installing updates or additional packages. Second, it doesn’t show me what updates are being applied. Of course, I am using the GUI front-end. If there’s a CLI for YaST, it sure would be nice to know about it. There isn’t a man-page for YaST, so if a CLI of it exists, it sure is hidden well.

IMO, Fedora/RedHat’s “yum” beats YaST’s software updater hands-down.

Lastly, I definitely have to agree with the comments above that were presented by “Gary”. OpenSuSE is not as intuitive as other distros like Ubuntu or even Fedora. I guess one of my biggest problems after installing openSuSE over my Fedora 8 installation was that the Gnome menu-bars were both displayed together at the top of the screen, without a single applet available. I had to add all of my applets, the Gnome standard toolbar, etc. I would imagine that a Linux-newbie would have screamed in terror if something similar had occurred with their installation.

also new to 10.3, it’s very difficult to add to the panel. Applets (which have been
an excellent way to tailor the local environment) are much harder to find or add to a panel or to a drawer (which now presumes to write into the panel)

Yes, the documentation for Gnome still tout’s WorkSpace switching as a benefit. No it’s not there anymore.

back to the menu choice? Have you tried to change the format of Menu selection? The standard Menu interface/selection applet is also missing in action. Perhaps it’s an oversight. The rpms where Gnome used to keep the basic applets does have the appletes, and there isn’t anything to point to where the applets are now deployed.
Control Center has been crippled in the area of Workspace and Menu modification.

other parts of Gnome are much better. But I find my self still using BlackBox more, just to
get access to multiple workspaces and to have better control over the menu.

I have several concerns on this SLAB issue. Your feedback will help me to better explain my position on this concern. For that I am grateful.

1. One should NOT have to install anything to REGAIN STANDARD function.

2. While you and I have the skill to install applets and such, most new users who will leave M$ Windows and come to Linux will NOT. I have been looking at Linux since 1999 with the hope that the “average Joe” will be able to find it easily accessible. 2007 is the FIRST year that I can see that the average person will be able to take the leap and NOT have to “Geek” himself — call it laziness or whatever, it is a fact of life that most people will not “Geek” themselves. When M$ Windows Vista came out I told my customer base that IF they needed a new computer RIGHT NOW then get an Apple Mac. I can now broaden this advice and say get the computer you want and you can install Linux and have the basic functionality and EASE OF USE. SLAB removes some functionality and ease of use. The STANDARD GNOME interface has all the important items EASILY accessible, like the several Desktops. For a new average user this is EXTREMELY helpful.

3. I recognize and recognized that some consider SLAB to be worthwhile. This is why I indicated that people should be GIVEN A CHOICE upon installation. Again, one should NOT have to install anything to REGAIN STANDARD function. (Example: Install SLAB the SuSe menu control or use the Standard Gnome menu control?) Even the people at Micro$oft understand this concept, (note, I am being as polite as possible with my M$ reference.).

4. I am perfectly relaxed as I recognize that SUSE is not the only distribution of Linux. However, short of this flaw with SLAB it WOULD HAVE BEEN THE BEST! It only takes one small toxic impurity to make an otherwise healthy glass of water into poison. I am more disappointed that with all the EXCELLENT features SUSE has provided in its Linux distribution that it shot itself in the foot with this removal and of a STANDARD FUNCTION and the necessity to “geek” it back. A hard lesson I have had to learn is that average people do not like to “geek” things.

5. I want Linux to become more mainstream. And as has been demonstrated, much progress has been made over the past eight years to facilitate the effort. None of the sophisticated abilities of Linux have been removed for the inspired person who is willing to “geek” himself in order for the average person to find Linux accessible. The Linux community may have been slow to realize and achieve this goal, yet like the story of the “Tortoise and the Hare”, slow and steady wins the race.

Yet, to overcome the inertia of the common person and allow him to leave M$ Windows he has to see that it will be NO more difficult and an many cases an improvement. The average person will be looking for excuses NOT to change and use Linux. I see the STANDARD FUNCTION as an improvement NOT the SLAB; others disagree. So again, we should have been given a CHOICE. We are given a choice at installation time in other areas, like GNOME or KDE; install games or don’t install games, so why not here with the interface — a most important area, too.

It is my hope that these concerns will be positively considered and used to improve what could have been the best Linux distribution so far.

If you relaxed for a little while you would probably see:
(i) even if you personally dislike the menu, it’s been proven to function better for a plethora people, performed very well throughout usability studies, and IMO it’s insanely better than the complicated mess of three menus that the default GNOME has
(ii) that you can still change to have the old menu layout should you really want to.

Hu? Add the “Workspace Switcher” applet and define as many desktop you want.

> We users should have been GIVEN A CHOICE to have this slab of a SLAB or the ELEGANCE of the STANDARD GNOME menu

Hu? You have that choice, use whatever menu applet you like more.

In addition, making the “Start” menu look like M$ Windows is NOT a benefit. Again, the STANDARD GNOME pull down from the top line menu was far easier and more useful.

This DE-Hancement is the ONLY thing keeping me from recommending SUSE Linux to my customers who will be leaving M$ Windows for a better operating system. As one who has been evaluating several distributions of Linux and GNOME, I was sadly disappointed by the use of SLAB instead of the STANDARD GNOME interface.

I strongly hope this error in judgment will be fixed as a well polished GNOME 2.20 was severely tarnished by this act.

Otherwise, you would have had an EXCELLENT distribution of Linux-Gnome.