Archive:13.2/Features
openSUSE 13.2 is...
A lot of hard work has been put into improving openSUSE via openQA the automated testing tool which helps ensure the latest openSUSE releases are not full of any nasty surprises for end users. 13.2 also comes with the shiny new Btrfs as the default filesystem for the root partition and the tried and tested XFS for /home. The new 3.16 Linux kernel also comes with several new stability features like detecting if your Dell Latitude laptop is falling (to the ground). Additionally, the YaST codebase has matured after being ported to Ruby meaning that it is more responsive and reliable than ever.
This release comes with AppArmor 2.9 enabled by default which means more security for any applications that have an AppArmor profile set to enforce mode. There are also updated packages for various network tools like Samba, AutoYaST and more.
openSUSE 13.2 comes with GCC 4.8 and the option to install the newer GCC 4.9, Qt 5.3 which brings lots of improvements to the Qt5 framework. You also have the option of installing the brand new (but still in testing) Plasma 5.
In this release the YaST port to Ruby has matured to a point where the codebase is now reliable and full of the fantastic features you expect from YaST. ActiveDoc continues to be used as the place to find documentation on various tools you are bound to encounter in the Linux world. 13.2 also features KDE Applications 4.14 and Plasma Desktop 4.11 which will form stable desktop environment as the KDE project continues to port code to KDE Frameworks 5. Meanwhile the GNOME desktop comes with version 3.14. LXDE has been revamped for this release with up to date packages, improved artwork, lots of bug fixes and new features.
Linux 3.16 comes with improvements for Nouveau the open source driver for NVIDIA cards as well as more features for Intel and AMD graphics. This new kernel also improves the performance of Btrfs and XFS.
KDE Plasma Desktop now comes with support for integrating with your mobile devices via the KDE Connect package. The new default Btrfs filesystem means you get tons of new features many which you may have never thought possible!. YaST also comes with a new Qt interface as well as having been ported to Qt5.
This release comes with a number of experimental technologies to try out, such as Wayland 1.4, KDE Frameworks 5, bleeding edge software available on the Build Service and a brand new colour scheme for the distro.