Desktop Operating System

How to install KDE 4.0 in OpenSUSE 10.3 - 1-Click install

2008-01-15T00:09:00.001-08:00

I saw this excellent tutorial on ubuntu-tutorials about steps to install KDE4.0 in ubuntu. Its easy, actually fairly easy.
However, it involves use of command line, vim and warns to remove any previous installation of KDE 4.0.
Basically the steps are

Remove any previous KDe 4.0 install
sudo aptitude remove kdelibs5 kde4base-data kde4libs-data
edit the /etc/apt/sources.list
sudo vim /etc/apt/sources.list
and append this line
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/kubuntu-members-kde4/ubuntu gutsy main
Finally install the KDE 4.0 packages by these two commands
sudo aptitude update sudo aptitude install kde4-core

so a total of 3 steps involving command line.
Hey why am I mentioning command line this often ? This is Linux and command line is an integral part of it, specially for installing packages ;right ?
Well !! its partially right, true that command line is integral to Linux, however, for trivial tasks like installing KDE 4.0 its not required, provided the distribution you choose is OpenSUSE 10.3.

Lets check the OpenSUSE KDE4 webpage for the steps required to install KDE 4.0.
Bingo !! OpenSUSE guys have integrated KDE4 install with their famed 1-Click install service and now KDE4 could be installed just by clicking this single icon .

Just a minute, what about any previous installation of KDE 4.0. Intrestingly, you are lucky if you already have a KDE4 version installed, as all you need to do is open YAST GUI and update all pacakges. All the KDE4 packages will be updated to the latest version.
OpenSUSE has truly eliminated command line from KDE4 install and I love mouse clicks.

KDE4 System Settings

2008-01-14T00:43:00.001-08:00

In KDE4 they have changed the KControlCenter and named it System Settings.
I found it to be easy to navigate and very intuitive. Lets start the visual review.
The start page looks very similar to KControl of KDE3.

Lets start with Look and Feel section.

Appearance :: Configure Theme, Colors, Style
Desktop: Configure Cool desktop Effects and Screen Saver
Notification : System Notifications and Bell
Splash Screen
Window Behavior : Titlebar Actions, Windows Actions, Focus, Moving Actions etc.

Second Section is the personal Settings

About Me. Configure user details
Accessibility. Improve accessibility for differently abled people
Default Application
Regional and Language Settings

Going over to Network and Connectivity Section

Network Settings: Set Connection preferences, proxy etc.
Setting for Samba Client (Not Server) Windows Share

KDE4 System Setting also provide some Computer Administration settings

Date & Time
Display Settings
Font Installer
Joystick configuration
Keyboard & Mouse Settings
Sound Settings

These are normal settings. The Settings manager considers some more settings are part of Advanced Settings

File Associations
Input Actions
KDE Resources
KDE Wallet
Service Manager
Session Manager
Solid Configuration

and
Samba Configuration. I do not have Samba installed so got this message

All in all, I can say that KDE4 System Settings provide and exhaustive interface for almost full system settings.
I liked the new and crisp interface, please do share with me how you liked this screenshot tour.

About Me

2007-11-04T01:53:00.001-07:00

My name is Abhay Kumar Srivastava. I have a B.Tech degree in Computer Science and more than 6 years of working experience as a Software Engineer. My area of work involves writing device drivers for FreeBSD platform and writing normal C++ applications on Linux.
I first tried a free desktop (KDE) on FreeBSD and since then I am hooked to it. I do not run MS Windows on my home computers, though my wife has it.
My primary Linux Distribution is PCLinuxOS, however, I keep trying others. Apart from PCLOS, I like SUSE the most.
I am blogging since one year and intend to provide Linux Distro
reviews, comparisons and tips.

Ubuntu vs OpenSUSE

2007-11-01T01:16:00.001-07:00

Disclaimer ::
My default distributions is PCLinuxOS and I am not a fanboy of either Ubuntu or OpenSUSE.
I have tried to be as impartial as I can, but I am human after all and can be biased.
This comparison is written purely with people new to Linux or for people who wants to get things done easily.
Advanced users may find it lacking or might even differ with my views, apologies to them, but I am basing this for average user.
I know that some people are against SUSE for the deal with M$, however, this comparison totally ignores politics and focuses only
on ease of use, even if some features are a result of M$ deal.

I had done the similar comparison some times earlier with OpenSUSE 10.2 and Ubuntu/Kubuntu 6.10.
In that I found SUSE leading on most accounts. However, this time I am going with Ubuntu Gutsy ( 7.10) and OpenSUSE 10.3.
Ubuntu Gutsy is proclaimed to be the best Ubuntu ever and it really appears to be, everything simply works .
On the other hand, OpenSUSE 10.3 though great release, but I had some stability issues with it.
I will use the same comparison factors as I have used in the earlier comparison. Lets not waste your time and get started

Installation :
OpenSUSE impresses from the first boot, of the install CD, itself. I was greeted with a beautiful screen screen.
Ubuntu too does a good job but them SUSE reflects elegance.

The Green Welcome	Boot Selector

The Ubuntu Screen

OpenSUSE loads into a nice looking GUI installer. It is the same installer that was in 10.2, though a little more improved.
Ubuntu on the other hand boots into a nice looking LiveCD. Ubuntu also offers an alternate install CD which has advanced install options.
SUSE install is very comprehensive and results in adding the required Non-OSS ( Non -Open Source Software) repositories.
However, this takes a huge amount of time, 6 hours on my 256 kbps connection.
Ubuntu install takes just 30 minutes, but does not add extra repositories.
Here I would give Ubuntu the advantage as installing from a LiveCD is much easier for a normal user,
also LiveCD gives the benefit of doing other things ( Like browsing the net) while install is going on.
In case of SUSE for nearly 7 hours my desktop was useless.
Scores : Ubuntu 2, OpenSUSE 1

The initial Grub Screen:
SUSE displays a very exciting and eye pleasing GRUB menu.
Ubuntu has a text based grub by default which looks ugly in comparison.
Though we can install a SUSE type GRUB on Ubuntu, as described in my previous post, still the SUSE GRUB looks much more elegant.
Here I am giving less score to Ubuntu as even after tinkering with command line, the GRUB of SUSE is still better.
Scores: Ubuntu 0, OpenSUSE 2

Boot Speed:
Looks like that with the new release both OpenSUSE as well as Ubuntu have improved the boot speeds.
On my AMD 3200+ , 1GB RAM desktop I could not make out any difference between the boot speed of the two.
Kudos to the devs of SUSE and Ubuntu for improving the boot speed.
Scores: Ubuntu 2, OpenSUSE 2

GDM login Menu :
Ubuntu has improved a lot on the look and feel, however, the green of SUSE still takes the cake.
Check out these login screens of the two.

SUSE GDM	Ubuntu GDM

Both the login screens are clean, with only the distro logo and place to enter login id. I prefer the green screen
of SUSE, but then its my personal choice.
Scores: Ubuntu 2, OpenSUSE 2

Gnome Menu:
Ubuntu has stock GNOME menu which definitely pales in comparison to the beautiful SLAB menu of SUSE.
Though some people claim that SUSE has heavily modified the GNOME menu and made it look like KDE,
but man just have a look at the images below and decide for yourself.

SUSE Gnome Menu	Ubuntu GNOME Menu

Scores: Ubuntu 1, OpenSUSE 2

OpenOffice:
Novell has a deal with M$ and hence has improved the OpenOffice to incorporate M$ "proprietary" code in it.
Ubuntu has no such liberty, so its OO is stock again. SUSE OO also has better look and feel.
The load time of OO in SUSE is also faster than that in Ubuntu.
Please ignore the politics behind M$ deal and just look at the features.
Scores Ubuntu 0, OpenSUSE 2

Theme:
Ubuntu has really refined its look and feel and now even the default desktop looks WOW!.
I just loved the default wallpaper, nautilus theme and icon sets. Every thing is just WOW.
However, when I compare this to the highly integrated green theme of SUSE, SUSE appears much ahead.
All applications on the desktop look as part of one single theme and well blended.
Again Ubuntu developers missed blending some of the applications with the beautiful human theme.
Scores: Ubuntu 1, OpenSUSE 2

Default Applications:
Ubuntu comes with almost all the applications I use on GNOME , like Totem, Rythembox, Tomboy, Firefox, F-SPOT, GIMP etc.
I even came with tracker search tool pre-installed.
SUSE too has a very good collection of default applications. It has almost all that Ubuntu has with Banshee replacing Rythembox.
Now Banshee can play and import audio CDs and play and synchronize music with iPods, as well as Creative Zen players. I can easily sync with my iPod and export my playlist to last.fm.
Question: When Ubuntu can come with F-SPOT as default application, why not Banshee too ?
However, I felt that SUSE installs too many applications, a little too many and despite installing all these there is not default search tool.
Scores: Ubuntu 2, OpenSUSE 1

Stability:
I had bad experiences with both.
In KDE version of OpenSUSE, XServer crashes when I try to play any video file.
In Ubuntu, when I asked F-SPOT to look at my FAT drive (20 GB) for photos, the entire OS simply got hung.
I could not even go to virtual terminals and a hard reboot was the only solution.
Though these are the only two instances of instability in both, but they are reproducible.
I would not rate any one as good in stability.
Scores: Ubuntu 0, OpenSUSE 0

Installing Java, Codecs etc:
This is one area where both have done tremendous improvements and have made things easy.
In both if Totem does not find the correct codecs, it will ask for searching and subsequently installing them.
I was not aware of this functionality in SUSE and had already installed java and codecs using 1-Click install.
Later on I read this at DVD-Guide.
Scores: Ubuntu 2, OpenSUSE 2

Package management:
YAST2 is the package manager for SUSE and it works well.
SUSE has now integrated Guru repository with packman repository, thus decreasing the number of repositories.
One major issue I had with YAST2 is that every time when I start YAST2 it loads all the repositories and downloads from internet.
This really slows up everything. On the contrary Ubuntu has the famous and revered Synaptic.
Synaptic makes installing/ removing/updating very easy and its much faster than YAST2.
Scores: Ubuntu 2, OpenSUSE 1

System configurations:
Ubuntu has GUI tools for many admin tasks but they are all segregated. I this respect I like the Control Center of PCLinuxOS ( derived from Mandriva).
YAST2 goes a step further and make admin and configurations a child's play.

SUSE Administration	Ubuntu Administration

Scores: Ubuntu 1, OpenSUSE 2

Security:
Both have AppArmor by default. A word about AppArmor:
AppArmor proactively protects the system from security threats, both internal and external. It enforce the applications to only be able to access resources aimed to be accessed by the application. In this way the system is protected to both known and unknown threats.For each application we want to protect or increase the security around, a security profile is created. The profile describes what files or devices the application is allowed to read, write and/or execute.
Scores : Ubuntu 2, OpenSUSE 2

Fonts:
In both the distributions, I had to install MS and Apple fonts.
Its very easy to install and use different fonts in both the distributions.
Scores: Ubuntu 2, OpenSUSE 2

Community Support:
Here I would maintain my previous statement. SUSE is a very mature distribution and enjoys a good community support, however, that dwarfs in comparison to Ubuntu community. If you post a single thread to Ubuntu forums, there will be multiple instant replies. The Ubuntu community is huge and very active. Best part is that they are very helpful. The Ubuntu forums are full of HOWTOs and various tips and tricks. In terms of technical knowledge Ubuntu forums can easily rival Gentoo forums.
Scores: Ubuntu 2, OpenSUSE 1

Conclusion:
After watching openSuSE 10.3 from its early days in development, I think the developers at openSuSE have done a great job. After the review finished I was sure that for a newcomer to the linux world openSuSE 10.3 is the best place to be. With Autoupdater, 1-Click Install, Easy Repository Management, Easy Software & System Administration, you can not go wrong with openSuSE 10.3. Surely for many users this may not mean much, however for someone new to Linux openSUSE 10.3 is probably the best distribution to try. However, I still prefer Synaptic over YAST2 and then SUSE had the XServer crashes.

This new release of Ubuntu is the most user friendly and well supported Ubuntu I've ever used. Most hardware seems to just work out of the box with the help of the their restricted driver manager. The system is very configurable and well integrated. The inclusion of Tracker for desktop search technology take the system up a whole new notch of usability. It's not there yet, of course, but for me this release certainly improves on the firm base set down by previous releases.
At the same time, I would like the theme to be more integrated into default desktop and Ubuntu need to get away from the system freeze like I experienced with F-Spot.

Who the winner is ??? Do simple maths.

Acknowledgments:

Distrowatch. For tis review of both Ubuntu and OpenSUSE
Sunny's Review of OpenSUSE.
Phorolinux. For the excellent screenshots.
DVD-Guides. For their SUSE review.

Blogged with Flock

1-Click install of GIMP 2.4 on OpenSUSE

2007-10-29T05:00:00.001-07:00

The 1-Click install is turning out to be really productive. People are adapting it for installing many softwares.
The latest version of Gimp, version 2.4, is also available for install via the Community repository.
Install it using the Following links

For OpenSUSE 10.3

For OpenSUSE Factory.

Copied Shamelessly from James Ogley.

Got a Trick -- Share it

2007-10-28T12:35:00.001-07:00

We all love small tricks that can make all the difference.
If you have one share it with the world and let all appreciate it.
It can be as simple as changing the desktop layout or more complicated like writing/compiling a kernel module.
I will respect your views and share most of your post as it is or might change a thing or two.
Please post your comments and I will post it in Guest Tips and Tricks Column.

Abhay Kumar Srivastava

Blogged with Flock

PCLinuxOS Bounces Back on Distrowatch

2007-10-28T10:33:00.001-07:00

The latest version of Ubuntu, Gutsy Gibbon aka 7.10, was released on 18th October 2007 and it immediately catapulted Ubuntu to top of Distrowatch rankings for 7 days.
PCLinuxOS has dominated Distrowatch rankings since some time and many speculated the rise of Ubuntu as the end of reign of PCLinuxOS at Distrowatch.
However, release or no release, PCLinuxOS has established itself as a force to reckon with. It immediately bounced back and now again enjoys top position at Distrowatch.
Here are the rankings

Rankings for 7 Days
Rankings for 30 Days
Rankings for 3 Months
Rankings for 6 Months

Great going PCLinuxOS.

Disclaimer ::

Please do not add HPD of other canonical distributions like Kubuntu, Xubuntu etc as Canonical itself releases them as separate distros, moreover Distrowatch lists them individually.
I do not mean that PCLinuxOS is more popular than Ubuntu. I agree Ubuntu definitely is much more popular.
These are Distrowatch HPD rankings and I am merely reporting them.
People have not setup any bots or agents to increase PCLinuxOS HPD, the Distrowatch experiment proves this.