BrainStorming Prague/Pluses

From openSUSE

Pluses

openSUSE distribution has a lot of pluses. We have decided to list them together with minuses because they are often connected. What is a plus for someone might be considered a minus for someone else.

General

We do the whole distribution

We can decide easily how to do things, on the other hand it a bit hides the development process.

Good branding and artwork

It's always a joy to work with or entertain yourself using a well-branded system. All parts of the system should fit the other ones from the beginning of the installation the the installed system: DVD media startup screen, Installation application, Bootloader (GRUB) menu, Booting splash screen, Login screen, Running desktop theme, Desktop menu, Applications, Icons....

• All applications (if possible) should follow the current openSUSE Artwork Guidelines defined under the openSUSE Artwork.
• We still don't have enough graphic designers and developers that would help unifying the applications to use the same style

• GNOME still could use major redesign of GUI and icon themes. See what is being prepared for Ubuntu. When will be features ~same, look and feel will decide.

Tags: long-term, usability
Interested: Lukas Ocilka

Usability

E.g., unified use of icons helps user understand faster what's going on.

• Putting emphasis on Icon theme useful for GNOME and KDE would help. Tango could help, but it isn't very nice IMHO.

Tags: long-term, usability
Interested: Lukas Ocilka

New technologies/new features

We do a lot of development and pushing the new stuff in (examples?).

• KDE4, apparmor ...

Tags: hard, communication, process, long-term, openfate
Interested:

Bleeding edge development platform

ruby, python, mono, ...

A lot of packages provided by the project

We have a wide selection of packages for almost everything. On the other hand, it makes it a bit uneasy to find the software you actually want.

We have several places where to find what you need:

• Additional_YaST_Package_Repositories - Third-party software repositories
• openSUSE Build Service search tool
• Community software search tool
• YaST interface for community software search tool
• Community Repositories - Already merged with YaST Repositories module

Tags: usability, long-term
Interested: Lukas Ocilka, Michal Hrusecky

Developer blogs

Lots of developers have their blogs - either private ones, on lizards.opensuse.org or somewhere else, but they are integrated on Planet SUSE. Thanks a lot! Some of them are also using microblogging services like twitter or identi.ca. It would be great if the bloggers number was even higher!

Technical

Installer works

It's still easier to install a Linux system using YaST:

• It provides useful proposals (e.g., Disk partitioning, Installed software, ...)
• Warns user when necessary (e.g., Warning messages in installation proposal)
• Shortens the time needed for installation (e.g., Installation from images)
• Libzypp is still faster and faster (but still feature-rich)
• Automatic Configuration configures the default system without any user-interaction

Installation Screenshots:

• Live-CD Installer
• DVD Installation

Tags: usability, long-term
Interested: Lukas Ocilka

Default configuration works out-of-the-box

There's no need for additional manual changes in configuration files after the installation or upgrade. YaST provides useful user interface for expert tuning if needed.

Now we have really minimal installation set

New features and fixes in Libzypp with well-defined patterns makes possible to install a really minimal system.

Package management

zypper works really fast

Build Service

• Users can quite easilly maintain their own, slightly modified version of packages or unpackaged software.
• Developers can easilly support binaries for multiple distributions.
• Collaboration during the packaging.

SUSE Studio

Easy and efficient way to build custom distributions based on SUSE.

YaST

Integrated configuration environment for servers and desktops. Definite advantage of SUSE over any other distribution.

3D in KDE out of the box

It is advantage of KDE4, nothing unique to openSUSE.

Radeon HD driver

...

Flash out-of-the-box

Flash 'just works TM' after the installation.

Superb Czech localization

Czech translation has a very good ratio of translated strings:

• openSUSE 10.3 Statistics
• openSUSE 11.0 Statistics
• openSUSE 11.1 Statistics (not yet finished)

Upstream is still the same regardless distro and in SUSE specific things I see decreasing tendency.

Inconsistency in description: still the same vs. decreasing tendency - please, explain what do you mean by that.

Still the same - upstream is still the same for any distro, therefore brings no advantage to SUSE.

Decreasing tendency - this is for SUSE specific stuff. Klara Cihlarova is on Maternity leave, Jakub Friedl is busy -> these are only Czech coordinators who can submit translations -> risk of further decrease of percentage of translation.

// This is not true, I can submit translations and I am somehow coordinator of Czech translators community. Al least of openSUSE and mostly bad quality of 11.1 translations is my fault because I was busy and I will not let that happened again with 11.2 -- Marek Stopka (m4r3k)

Upgrade (by booting media) works out-of-the-box

YaST provides useful proposals and does everything automatically.

32/64-bit mixed system support

Both 32 and 64-bit applications or libraries can be installed in one system.

Although it would be even better if there were more 32-bit.x86-64 libraries or the 32-bit and 64-bit ones could be installed in parallel.

1-click install

The shortest way to install a software. Actually, it isn't shortest way. gdebi provides faster way. See getdeb.net.

command-not-found

• instead of useless message about missing command it provides possible solutions right a way
  • searching for packages to install is really simple
  • provides solution for most frequent errors in command line

Tags: usability
Interested: Michal Hrusecky

ncurses YaST interface

• Definitely cool thing for servers, which typically don't install X.

OpenOffice

As Novell is one of the biggest contributors to the OpenOffice project, our OpenOffice packages are simply the best ones around. (for example, Ubuntu is using our OOo too)

No debconf around

• default configuration works somehow
• nobody force me to answer stupid questions
  • I can run yast to help me with configuration later if I want
  • I can write my own configuration from the scratch without need to go through some wizard before I can actually do so

sysconfig

• Easy-to-edit, easy-to-understand system or services configuration.

• Can be used to set some system wide options for all interested packages.
  • example - windowmanager is used by kdm, xdm and gdm so if I change dm, I don't have to reconfigure everything

• Is it really Plus?
  • Doesn't it cause problems like Golden cage, SUSE specific things, troublesome configuration of /etc and other Minuses?
  • It is mentioned as Minus as well