openSUSE vs Ubuntu

[spotdog14]

Alright, I am giving it a try. I have decided that install openSUSE on my work machine and give it a go and see how well I can do in the work arena. I am pretty familiar with Ubuntu since I have it on two laptops and my home server.

So tell me, what are things right off the bat that I am going to miss and things that I am going to wish that Ubuntu had?

I am installing it as we speak right now, the only thing I can foresee from my using of Ubuntu to do work things is that I am going to have to run some sort of VM environment to use all the things that I have to do in Outlook 2k7, not so much mail, as creating public folders, editing contacts public contacts, etc. So that I already know is going to be a problem, but everything else like document editing is not going to be a problem, all I have to do is map our network drive and away I go, since I usually use OpenOffice anyways.

So again the question is what I am really going to like about openSUSE (btw its version 11 Gnome) and what are things I am going to miss from Ubuntu? I think not having synaptic is going to be a shocker for a while.

[BillLeeLee]

Well you lose the Ubuntu control panel and synaptic, but you get YaST as a replacement. Other than that, when I ran either environment, I hacked them up so much I could have done whatever I cared to do with them, so I guess I'd just say they'd be pretty much the same experience. I never did use the GUI administration tools myself, so usually the biggest difference between any distros I use is the package management, or lack thereof.

You can also install apt and get synaptic in SuSE, by the way, but there are other package management tools like SMART and Yum that you can use in SuSE.

As for things you might like? I'd assume YaST. To be honest, I'm not really sure of this answer. :p

[Child of Wonder]

Being primarily a Debian guy, I'm very familiar with Ubuntu and like it a lot. I've also dabbled a bit into SuSE at work and really don't care for it. Maybe I'm just too biased. YAST can be nice when it works but since I'm so used to editing config files by hand, YAST doesn't like to play nice when I do this.

Also, this might simply be due to my lack of experience with SuSE, it seems SuSE doesn't have much in the arena of downloading new packages over the internet. Plus, I love Debian's ability to net install.

[JimmiG]

OpenSuse gives you a much more customized environment, especially it's Gnome desktop - the primitve "Applications" menu is replaced with a Vista-wannabe menu and an "Application browser", for example. I prefer OpenSUSE's Yast over Ubuntu scattered applets. Yast also includes a nice configuration file editor that lets you edit your files graphically, similar to the registry editor in Windows. Overall, the initial impression you get from OpenSUSE 11 is more "polished" and professional.

It's easier to find and download packages in Ubuntu, though.. fewer problems with packages, depndencies etc. too. Hardware detection also worked slightly better with Ubuntu 8.04 than with OpenSUSE 11, both on my laptop and on my desktop computer. As long as you replace the ugly wallpaper and color scheme that comes with Ubuntu, it can look at least as good and "professional" as OpenSUSE.

Localization is also better in Ubuntu - it's easy to select Swedish for everything, though some entries and applets would still be shown in english.

[Cheetoz]

kubuntu would be a better comparison -.-

[Vashypooh]

OpenSuse gives you a much more customized environment, especially it's Gnome desktop - the primitve "Applications" menu is replaced with a Vista-wannabe menu and an "Application browser", for example. I prefer OpenSUSE's Yast over Ubuntu scattered applets. Yast also includes a nice configuration file editor that lets you edit your files graphically, similar to the registry editor in Windows. Overall, the initial impression you get from OpenSUSE 11 is more "polished" and professional.

It's easier to find and download packages in Ubuntu, though.. fewer problems with packages, depndencies etc. too. Hardware detection also worked slightly better with Ubuntu 8.04 than with OpenSUSE 11, both on my laptop and on my desktop computer. As long as you replace the ugly wallpaper and color scheme that comes with Ubuntu, it can look at least as good and "professional" as OpenSUSE.

Localization is also better in Ubuntu - it's easy to select Swedish for everything, though some entries and applets would still be shown in english.

Pretty sure that menubar was in opensuse has been around for quite a few years.

[spotdog14]

Pretty sure that menubar was in opensuse has been around for quite a few years.

I cannot get use to the openSUSE menu bar... it drives me crazy! I will give it a few more days before I install Ubuntu again. For some reason on SUSE I cannot seem to mount any windows shares, but works fine in Ubuntu?

[Cheetoz]

is samba running/config'd correctly?

what do logs show

[benzino_86]

I've used OpenSUSE and Ubuntu extensively, and I am gonna stick with OpenSUSE 11.0.

YAST was a pain to get used to, but it works well. OpenSUSE does have good online repositories with updated packages and software.

I agree that OpenSUSE is more polished and professional, mainly because its a corporate desktop Linux distro; its meant for professional use.

Ubuntu is nice to learn Linux. I feel that you get your feet wet with Ubuntu then move to something more advanced as you become more comfortable with Linux in general.

[:LJ:]

My recollection from the 10.2 days was that YaST is horrible and slow - using Synaptic by comparison was a breath of fresh air.

Yum also periodically destroyed my system and required hours of unpicking the mess. The Apt toolset is far better, in my opinion.

[JimmiG]

My recollection from the 10.2 days was that YaST is horrible and slow - using Synaptic by comparison was a breath of fresh air.

Yum also periodically destroyed my system and required hours of unpicking the mess. The Apt toolset is far better, in my opinion.

Yast and package management is greatly improved in OpenSUSE 11.. I can't decide whether I like Ubuntu or OpenSUSE11 best.. they both have their strengths and weaknesses. I'd say it's a tie at the moment.