Comments on: openSUSE Weekly News, Issue 75

By: scott

scott — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:06:41 +0000

If you have ever tried to insert a comment here, and got knocked back because of the system telling you you got the SPAM protection WRONG????
This is due to you using the smaller size/larger size options. SPAM protection will fail 100% of the time if you try to change the default size.
Can someone fix this now please! – Its taken me a while to work out. The use of a at the end of the text also seems to upset it

By: scott

scott — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:38:43 +0000

With our Localisation Efforts and the great advances our translators have made, just which version of English are you basing this on. I have ready about efforts to standardise English as we use it in PC/Comms and I.T conventions in Wiki, but there has been no formal decision on an ISO for which brand of English.

If I can download a standard Dictionary for Open Office ( I am in .AU) then why cant we use these language modules as our base for different English Localisations at time of Install.

So Which English sits at the top of the Localisation/Translation File – I will give just one guess – the reason, will be not so clear.

By: scott

scott — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:28:26 +0000

The new user does not like up when the GUI Install falls over. They also dont see the start-up guide to download next to the software due page size limitations and positions. You will all be pleased to know I made a big deal about a new user coming to terms with which desktop. This should preface the start-up Guide, and not be left to 1 Paragraph on page 4 or the paper Guide and Installation Program for 11.2. I can only hope this does happen in the download .PDF Manual and retail box – its my bug – but if it actually happens then great!
.
For all my newbies where I install the software and I ask what they want in terms of programs – they all love it to bits, cannot get enough of it and go to their work place from home wanting to get rid of….that other ugly Window thing.

Also when they ask for help over the phone I guide them via GUI tools, as none of gen X, or Y wants to nor is prepared to go anywhere near a command prompt. We have people coming out of uni that cannot use a non GI text editor…That’s what the generation X and Y demand – They want nothing to do with the console.

By: Rod Donovan

Rod Donovan — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 14:52:07 +0000

I have been using OpenSuSE since 6.2 or 6.3. I gave up on redhat because it was torture to work with. OpenSuSE was like a dream come true. It worked out of the box. I personally recommend a README FIRST CHAPTER before switching to Linux. This chapter should explain what Linux is and what it is not. It should be a rough overview of perceptual concepts required to grasp the main themes of our operating system. The HELP in the installation process is quite good. I think we can do better and even be nit picky about it. You know, explanations for the most unintellectual users. Also, have AMD ramp up their ATI video cards to work properly with Linux. Just before I was hired on, our school was sold a truly sad bag of low end computers from Hewlet Packard. 1Gig speed, 256 meg ram, CD-reader(only), Shame on you HP! Just go for the buck no matter what. Well, let’s just say that with over 95 updates and two service packs(2 &3), it is almost impossible to run Windows. Everything is wait, wait, wait. So! I switched to OpenSuSE 11.1. Thank God that at least these 45 machines had Nvidia video cards. I cleaned, serviced, and installed SuSE 11.1. It runs respectable believe it or not. The kids, Jr. and High School love the operating system. Some have even taken copies of 11.1 to install at home. This is great. This repository system is pretty good. We just need to keep them clean. Sometimes I get errors when downloading or updating. Other than that, Keep up the good work and special thanks to Novell.

By: xman

xman — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:55:42 +0000

I AGREE

By: xman

xman — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:53:56 +0000

IS THERE ANY PROGRAM THAT SUPPORTS I-POD TOUCH ALREADY? CAUSE I HAVE YEARS TRYING TO MAKE IT WORK DIRECTLY WITH THE USB PORT, WIRELESSLY DON´T WORK VERY GOOD.

By: JGB

JGB — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 07:51:43 +0000

1) this is not an argument. You are not in Windows and things do not have to be as in Windows. And Windows is not intuitive at all.
2) why do you have to install a email programm when you have kmail installed in KDE, Evolution in Gnome etc.. What is brutal in ticking a box in yast even if you wish another program?? Flame?
3) please!
4) please address your critiques to these producers or choose another linux distribution which does not require to tick a box or to read a howto.
5) I agree that update managers are not really a good thing. Do your updates through yast, regularly. It is complete and you have a better control over what is happening.
6) you are still speaking as a frustrated user that does not find Windows in Linux. So why did you come to Linux if you want Windows? But in Linux you are free to choose your desktop. So simply choose one you feel is intuitive.
7) every software is buggy when not entirely ready. Try KDE 4.3 when it is ready. Use KDE 3.5 for a more traditional desktop (and a very stable one). Use OpenSUSE 11.0 for best experience in this case.
8) you do not use the online repositories? But it is a good point that it could be done like it. You are a programmer, I am envious: so I am awaiting your code to be integrated into linux. Great.
9) you are a (windows?)programmer……..so do it. Make it happen, make it a better system through your (productive) proposals and your work. This is what makes opensource unique. I would wish to be a programmer…My tasks as a user are unfortunately limited to bug-reporting and to help other users to overcome a trouble if I can.

By: JL

JL — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:23:12 +0000

In general Linux/KDE is difficult to use and manage for new and naive users:

(1) orientation and direction: things are not where they used to be for a Windows user.
For instance where is the browser? What are the names of things and their icons?

(2) installing a mail program: it is brutal for an inexperience user. The initialization interface is
inadequate. I had to install ThunderBird. But many users don’t even know that Thunderbird exists.

(3) connecting to the internet. For instance to connect thru DSL, PPPOE components must be installed, but during
a normal installation they are not installed. Even when PPPOE components are installed, the initialization procedure
is awkward, where 0 means “stay connected always”.

(4) music: there is no Itunes and Songbird is not installed. Codecs are missing or not used because of GPL
policies. But a new user does not understand these quarrels.

(5) The update process: the update is not a complete and managed interface. You don’t understand what is being
installed/fixed/replaced. See Ubuntu for a good update manager.

(6) KDE 4+ is difficult to manage and counter-intuitive: you have a desktop and a dashboard but what can
you do with them?, how do you configure?. What is the relationship between the desktop and the dashboard?
I personnally do not understand the task bar.

(7) KDE is buggy: icons and applications disappear and if you removed them, it is not trivial to put them back in.
The themes/skins are difficult to use. For example: the close button (top right hand side) is small and round: you must
be precise to close a window.

(8) To install new components you have to stop your music, remove the CD-ROM, insert the DVD,
install the new components and continue with the music. I tried to copy the DVD on my local disk but
it is impossible to configure the update system.

(9) …

Linux/KDE is for programmers. I am a programmer so I am used to troubles and suffering.
BUT that does not work for new users.