Suse Linux 9.1 Professional Edition

I used a program called Scilab and discovered that 9.1 not only didn't have the new version of Scilab but installing 9.1 actually deleted the version of Scilab that I had. Two libraries that Scilab uses are also deleted. There is no excuse for not warning users that some programs that they had been using would be lost when they upgrade.

In addition, the new sound mixers don't seem to work right, I can't print anymore and the network problems are worse. Perhaps 9.1 is okay as a new installation but upgrading is a disaster.

I attempted to contact SuSe about this on their website but after three days they have not even acknowledged my attempt to reach them. Their site is useless in dealing with the problems that I encountered.

I will copy my most important files and then re-install 9.0 but after this I am done with SuSe unless they acknowledge the problems in 9.1 and fix them. Not warning you that functioning programs would be deleted by the upgrade isn't just a mistake, it is evidence of SuSe's attitude towards its customers. We don't need another Microsoft, one is enough.

To all the Windows users considering the switch, I have some advice. Windows users are provided the comfort of reliable hardware support and everything "just working". This is so because almost all of the hardware vendors are providing full support for it. Many vendors have not jumped on the linux bandwagon and those that are doing so, are being very slow about it (prime example: ATI).

I have experimented with many distros and found SuSE 9.0 Pro to be one of the best ever, IMHO. It was fairly newbie friendly, good hardware detection, a little flexible, and pretty to boot. So I decided to give 9.1 a try...

...Well, I am typing this on my Windows box. I am having a bit of trouble installing 9.1 on my dual opteron box with my highpoint rocketraid 404 controller and 4 x 120GB Western Digital HDs. I have spent the last day and a half trying to get it installed the way I want it, with no success. I have identified what appears to be a bug with the HPT374 chipset as it cannot seem to read the early blocks of the hard drive on the first channel of the rocketraid controller. Consequently, that section of the hard drive cannot be assigned a mount point. I have not figured out exactly how much of the hard drive is unusable in this predicament.

Moments like this are not at all uncommon among the gazillion linux distros out there, including the other "commercial" distros. No matter how "user friendly" a distro may claim to be, you will most certainly have to use a bit of nerd elbow grease to get things going in some fashion or another.

I did install it to one of my hard drives just to lay my eyes on it. And let me say that it is FAST! Sexy looking too. Although, my Sound Blaster Audigy strangely was not configured correctly. I checked ALSA, and it was installed, but still no sound device. Strange. Will investigate more.

And, of course, no 3d acceleration yet, because I have an ATI Radeon 9800 Pro and many problems have arisen surrounding SuSE 9.1 and ATI's drivers and UT2004 (which is all I care to play). I will have to wait until ATI finally produces some quality drivers (if ever), but I will keep the faith as I will never switch to nvidia. ATI just rules.

For the windows power users (which I still am one of), I have come to find that linux may not be your bag. Hardware IDE RAID is almost nonexistent in the 2.6.x kernel (if not completely unsupported), so software raid is usually your only option, which is completely unacceptable for most windows power users. I enjoyed my two hardware RAID arrays with windows XP, as I had some seriously fast transfer rates and low cpu utilization, I have yet to see performance like that with linux' softare RAID solution.

Also, ATI owners are going to have a tough time with linux, as per my driver comments above, just to get 3d acceleration going and playing your favorite UT or Counterstrike or Splinter Cell. You have to be a friggin' pseudo programmer to get the drivers working... and then you gotta cross your fingers in hopes that your game will even run with the winex or crossover office emulator included in many commercial distros. And like I have experienced, if it does run, spotty performance. I have had to hit the forums countless times to get my card going, and once that does get going, geting my games to run.

Now, most of this is not linux' fault. It is mostly the vendors at which to point the blame. But this does not matter to most of you windows users who are curious about linux and want to try it. Not when you've got several hard drives, a RAID controller to use them with, a $400 video card, a massive third party cooler for that video card to overclock it with, dual processors, and really fast CAS2 RAM. You don't want to hear that. You just want something to just work. You just want to fire up UT2004 knowing that it will run, you just want to render something in Photoshop with all the speed and glory that dual processors and two hardware RAID arrays can provide, and you know what, I don't blame you.

So, windows converts be prepared, as linux is no smooth ride in my book. I am still dedicated to learning more and using it. But I will always have my windows box to do all the gaming and more productive tasks, for now.

I guess the point I am trying to get across to the fellow windows users is: make sure you research SuSE 9.1's and linux's compatibility with your current hardware. This will require reading all the reviews available on it and a serious stretch on the forums pertaining to it. It will probably save you a lot of time and headache, and if bad enough, money.

So, to all those who are considering the switch, please take my words to heart. If you choose to make the move, just know what you are getting into. Good luck.

With Suse 9.1 installed you will be able to use the Internet, send and receive e-mails, and have access to sufficiently usable office applications for the majority of instances. But give TextMaker a go for something better. You will also be able to play MP3, Quicktime, RealMedia, and DVD files AFTER you have installed the appropriate media players.

Printing is best done with the use of the CUPS print server and its associated printer drivers. This will need to be installed from the software provided, Once installed, the CUPS server is gotten at through your web browser by entering http://localhost:631 into the address area. Simply click on the web-links to add and configure your printer and port. This will now show up in your Kprint selector, if you have chosen the CUPS option. To start CUPS for the first time you may have to launch a terminal and enter a suitable command.

Your machine will need between 256 and 512 MB of RAM to avoid performance and stability problems, and preferably have a processor speed in excess of 933 MHz.

It's also a good idea to overwrite a previous Linux installation with something like Autoclave to obliterate any old files, which can cause a lot of trouble in Linux or FreeBSD Unix re-installs. That's my experience, anyway.

The KDE desktop is very customisable and solid, as is the Konqueuror web-browser, and K-mail.

Suse 9.1 is not a realistic alternative to Win 2000 Pro or Win XP Pro if you already have either of these operating systems installed, or need Adobe Acrobat, or other specialised applications. Yes, you could also install the Wine, windows emulator to run some windows applications. but the choice is limited.

It all depends on what you want to do and what your expectations are. And be prepared to gain some Linux expertise by putting in some hours and hitting the Linux pages on the net. Suse does make life for the Linux user somewhat easier, in comparison to other distributions, because of YAST, which lets you install and manage software and hardware without having to edit configuration files, etc.

For the more computer inclined out there, Suse Linux offers an opportunity to gain programming and development experience, since the majority of the source code is freely available, and you are provided with many of the tools needed to write and compile. That's something not available by going the Microsoft route.