e-mail   
 Menu
  Home
  Download
  Top 10 Downloads
  Last 15 New Files
  Web Links
  Tips
  Last 15 New Tips
  NLM Programming
  Admins Club





SUPLA System
Internet of Things




Installation and Administration






Polish Forum SUSE


 
Who's Online

 There are currently,
18 guest(s)
that is (are) online.
 


Technical Information

Back to List of Categories

Technical Information about
  A Little YaST Magic
  A Slideshow for Your KDE Wallpaper
  Add Novell Support to Your Firefox Search Engine
  Adding To The Panels In Gnome.
  Akregator - RSS News Reader
  An Introduction to WBEM and OpenWBEM in SUSE LINUX
  Authenticating SUSE LINUX to eDirectory via LDAP
  Basic Mounting Differences between Windows and Linux
  Beginner's Guide to Using Novell SUSE LINUX's Build Utility
  Browsing Files
  Card Readers on SUSE LINUX 9.2 Professional?
  Changing the Default Browser in Gnome
  Developing Perl CGI scripts on SUSE LINUX
  Do I Have Permission?
  Double SYNC -- Using RSYNC Simultaneously With and Without Branch Office for Data Backup
  Dumb Question: Mounting Linux CDs
  Easy Command-Line Introduction
  Easy Way to Debug SSL Connections
  Enabling an Interactive Startup in Novell/SUSE LINUX
  Exploring MySQL 4.1 and PHP 5 on SUSE LINUX
  Extend Your Panels Using Gnome Drawers.
  Firefox Speed Tip
  Fix Java Errors With ConsoleOne On Linux
  Fix Your Mouse Wheel...
  Gimp -- Closing In on Photoshop...
  Gimp Tips Part 1: Resizing Images
  Gimp Tips Part 2: Rounding Corners
  Gimp Tips Part 3: Fading Photography Edges
  Gimp Tips Part 4: Selective Colorization
  Gimp Tips Part 5: Plugins a Plenty - Adding Light
  Gimp Tips Part 6: Using The Clone Tool
  Google Auto-fill Replica for Linux
  How a Corrupted USB Drive Was Saved by GNU/Linux
  How to Implement Login Scripts into a Pure Linux Environment
  How to install and connect an External Modem on a Linux PC
  How to Install the Novell Client for Linux on SUSE Linux 10.0
  How to launch applications at login in Gnome
  How to Remote Control Linux
  How to setup a Linux application to automatically startup when you login.
  How to share Files and Printers Between Linux and MS Windows with Samba
  How to uninstall the Novell Client for Linux
  How to upgrade the Novell Client for Linux
  How to use SMB without turning off the firewall
  How's the Weather?
  HTML Development Tools in Linux
  Informative Bash Prompt
  Install and Use QEMU on SUSE 9.2
  Install Linux Frequently, Without the Hassle
  Installing Apache, PHP, and MySQL on SUSE LINUX Professional
  Installing RPM Files
  Integrating Novell Linux Desktop into a Novell NetWare network
  Introduction to Oracle 10g R1 (10.1.0.3) on SUSE LINUX Professional 9.3
  iPrint Printers on Novell Linux Desktop
  Linux Scheduling Priorities Explained
  Make a Misbehaving Program Quit
  Manually Mounting a USB Flash Drive in Linux
  Migrating To Linux, Advantages Over Windows 9.x And XP
  Minimize Your Maximizing with Multiple Desktops
  Mounting NetWare Volumes On NLD Illustrated
  Move Your /home to Another Computer
  Mozilla Mail Review
  Need a Backup?
  Novell Client Settings with Windows Terminal Server
  Novell Linux Desktop Equivalents of Windows Software - New and Improved
  Novell Linux Desktop System Upgrade How-To
  Partitioning Hard Drive for Linux Install
  Perform Remote SuSE Installations With Virtual Network Computing
  Quick Intro to Klipper
  Quick Shortcuts in The Gimp
  Reset Your Lost Root Password
  Resizing Your Gnome / KDE Panels
  Runlevels in SUSE LINUX
  Running Existing Win32 Applications on SUSE LINUX
  Service Command in /etc/init.d/
  Setting Shortcut Keys
  Setting up a Linux NFS Install Source for Your LAN
  Should I choose Novell Linux Desktop or SUSE LINUX Professional as my desktop?
  Starting Services From the Command Line On SuSE LINUX
  Sticky Notes for Gnome
  SUSE LINUX 9.3 Professional Review
  Sync Up The Taskbar and the Desktop in Gnome
  System Upgrade How-To
  Taking Screenshots in Linux
  The Basics of Messaging in the Cross-Platform GroupWise Client
  The Novell Client for Linux (beta).
  Transparent Panels in Gnome
  Trick Out Your KDE Desktop
  Understanding the YAST Software Module Options
  Updating Your Software with Red Carpet
  Using dsbk on Linux and Unix
  Using iFolder to Synchronize Firefox Bookmarks
  Using Multiple Swap Partitions In 2.4
  Using openSSH to Securely Access Remote Systems
  What FTP client should I use on Linux?
  What Is Logical Volume Management?
  What is so great about Firefox?
  Which Graphic Formats For What?
  Windows Shortcuts for Firefox Tabs on Linux
  Windows to Linux: A Beginner's Guide
  Windows Users Can Feel at Home Exploring Files in Linux
  WLAN interface as the Default
  Work With User Selection Icons In KDM
  YAST Online Update De-Mystified

Technical Information
 SUSE LINUX 9.3 Professional Review

Printer-friendly version

Posted: 17 Mar 2005

All the buzz about the release of SUSE 9.3 Professional got me excited. This very morning, I downloaded and installed SUSE Linux 9.3 Professional beta 4. The installation is similar to 9.2 though the screens seem crisper. It has definitely had some work, as it will do an md5sum check on the installation media to make sure it's not been corrupted. Also, when Grub was installed, it recognized the other bootable partitions. It put these partitions into the Grub menu automatically. It did not do this in previous versions. That's all I'm going to mention about the installation. Instead, let's take a look at some of the changes you'll in the newest version of SUSE when you are actually using it.

Almost all of the packages that come with SUSE 9.3 are new versions. As a matter of fact, when I first fired up KDE 3.4, I must say, it was exhilarating. What a beautiful sight. The default theme has changed in look, though not in name. Here's a vanilla install with Konqueror open:


Click image to view larger version

Right off the bat, I noticed several cool things about KDE 3.4. For example, you can right-click a menu option in the K Menu, and you are presented with a small context menu. This is something I have long desired. I can't adequately convey the joy this brings into my life:


Click image to view larger version

Things like that let you know the individuals working on the project are out to maximize your positive experience with their application. With a window manager, that is a great mindset to have.

Some machines run multiple operating systems (I've run up to 7 on the same box). With KDE 3.4, you have the ability to select the OS you wish to boot back into when you are restarting the machine:


SUSE 9.3 Professional also comes with Gnome 2.10. I'm not intimately familiar with Gnome because I am a KDE guy. Therefore, I am not as quick to notice the new features. However, feel free to visit the official Gnome site and view their list of new features and fixes. There is honestly quite a hefty amount of changes and new stuff.

There are also some excellent new choices available in the desktop application arena. For example, SUSE 9.3 now comes with Mozilla Firefox 1.0 as the default web browser. With all of the themes, extensions, security, and everything else that it offers, it's the cream of the crop for web browsing:


Click image to view larger version

For those of you following my articles, you'll know that I'm a proponent of Evolution. It's an excellent application that I highly recommend. SUSE 9.3 ships with Evolution 2.1.5. There are some features in this new version that are guaranteed to impress.

Xen now ships with the new version of SUSE, though not installed by default. This application allows you to run multiple instances of Linux-based operating systems on a single computer. This concept will be familiar to anyone who has used VMware. It creates a virtual machine that the host operating system treats as a real computer.

The new version of SUSE is also a lot more wifi-oriented. Chris Schlaeger of Novell says, "SUSE LINUX Professional 9.3 offers Bluetooth wireless support, including automatic recognition of Bluetooth-enabled devices via the YaST central configuration and administration tool. For busy mobile users, it supports quick and easy access to wireless networks."

OpenOffice.org 2.0 is now available. Many have been looking forward to this for what feels like an eternity.

OpenOffice Impress seems to have had a complete UI facelift. I find it to be much more appealing in it's latest release:


Click image to view larger version

The suite now includes the ability to detatch toolbars, a feature long overdue:


This new version also supports the OASIS OpenDocument standard for their XML format:


There are also plenty of enhancements to pre-existing features. You now have greater control over PDFs. There is more intuitive support for databases, allowing for creation of a "Database" document. The mail merge features have been spruced up, as well. Even the word count feature has received a facelift. The new version also sports a developing ability to work with WordPerfect files.

These are only a few of the new features. See the official list of improvements for a more comprehensive overview.

It appears that desktop searching is going strong in the Linux arena. SUSE 9.3 Professional now provides users with the ability to search files, cached web pages, chat logs, and the like with the innovative and trend-setting features provided by the Beagle project.

The GIMP version 2.2.3 comes stock with the new version of SUSE:


There is an overall feel of a more solid, feature-rich commercial-grade application with this new version. It feels like the menu items are easier to get to, not having to click seven times to drill down to get to them. This new version of the GIMP deserves nothing but praise. So does Novell for including it.

A small handful of the other upgraded coolness that comes with SUSE 9.3 Professional includes:

  1. Linux Kernel 2.6.11
  2. GCC 3.3.5
  3. glibc 2.3.4
  4. X.Org 6.8.2
  5. Mono 1.1.4
  6. KDevelop 3.2
  7. Eclipse 3.0.1
  8. PostgreSQL 8.0

What do you do when you already have a very strong distribution with all the latest packages? Why, you make the documentation top-notch, of course. Novell themselves says, "SUSE LINUX Professional 9.3 includes complete documentation for installation and application use. A short User Guide provides a quick start and basic instructions, the complete Administrators Guide provides comprehensive information about SUSE LINUX Professional features. Documentation is separated into user and administration guide for casual user and more skilled ones." Documentation for all skill levels is a great way to go.

The system requirements for SUSE 9.3 Professional are as follows:

  1. Processor: Intel: Pentium® 1-4, Xeon; AMD: Duron, Athlon, Athlon XP, Athlon MP, Athlon 64, Sempron, Opteron
  2. Main memory: at least 128 MB, 256 MB recommended
  3. Hard disk: at least 500 (for minimal system), 2.5 GB recommended for standard system
  4. Sound and graphics cards: SUSE LINUX supports most modern sound and graphics cards

So how much is SUSE 9.3 Professional going to cost? Head over to the SUSE Linux Professional 9.3 Preview site; you can pre-order it right now for $99.95. Retail for Europeans will be around 89.95 euros.

The default window manager of SUSE 9.3 Professional? Schlaeger's response: "KDE is still the default desktop environment for SUSE LINUX Professional 9.3. The majority of our customers do prefer it, so we honor their needs and those of the OSS community. But we offer both desktops at the highest possible level to maximize a customer's choice. We also spend a great amount of development effort to make both KDE & Gnome interoperate smoothly."

SUSE LINUX Professional 9.3 is due out in mid-April, 2005.

All in all, this release of SUSE is a nice, big step up. It has thousands of package upgrades. The documentation has even been upgraded. If ever you were considering converting friends and colleagues to SUSE, 9.3 will be your golden goose. SUSE is setting trends, and is the distribution to know in the workplace. This is true now more than ever.






Since 2003

Portal posiada akceptację firmy Novell Polska
Wszystkie materiały dotyczące produktów firmy Novell umieszczono za zgodą Novell Polska
Portal has been accepted by the Novell Polska
All materials concerning products of Novell firm are placed with Novell Polska consent.
NetWare is a registered trademark of Novell Inc. in the United States and other countries.
Windows is a trademark or a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries.
Sybase is a registered trademark of Sybase Inc. in the United States of America.
Other company and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.