I have decided to give Linux another try. I have had some bad experiences with a few of my favorites so I dropped them, went to PC-BSD and back to XP for a few weeks. I installed Suse 9.3 Professional and now I am lost. Everything, except for the DVD player, installed fine and even the DVD player was not a problem with a quick google search. Firefox came with Java, flash, midi plug-ins, etc. YaST has made it very easy to install some other programs I wanted. I also installed a binary and a package from source. I had no problems with any of this at all. So what is my complaint? Well I am not only surprised that it went that easy, but I am even more surprised that it was Suse. Well actually I have two more things to try, not counting the printer/scanner which I don't really use that much. One is a webcam and the other is my digital camera. I see no problem with the latter but the webcam has always been a problem with any Linux or BSD distro.

The only real problem I have encountered was that every time I added a panel it would cause a kicker crash when I shut down, rebooted or logged out of KDE. Not sure why yet.


Alright, I guess I have no complaints. I do look forward to seeing the future of Suse, among a few others. This could be even more fun.

Ok, enough of my rambling.


Webwolf

Perhaps a better thread title is in order.

As for your digital camera, try installing the gphoto package. This supports a lot of camera and makes downloading your photos a snap.

Try downloading and installing kino and dvgrab for your video camera.

why surprised that yast does all the work for you?

another thing that will not be surprising: your most comonly used app will be called YAST, whereas in other linux distros or bsd's it would be the terminal, which where linux's real power lies. (at least one of the powers *nix systems have to offer)
of course suse has a terminal to be used - yet how likely is it, that you will use it to configure anything on your system?

but if suse works for you, then that is great.

Personally I use SuSE Prof 9.2 on my laptop, and I HATE YaST.

IMHO configuring an app from a GUI provided by someone other than that software's development team is typically pointless unless you are using it to generate a basic config file that you are going to use as a starting point. GUI config apps typically are not robust enough to provide access to all of a apps config options.

Just because SuSE comes with YaST, doesn't mean you have to use it.

ok, you hate yast,
but how high are the chances that someone introduced to suse will be able to come loose from yast? text mode or console will scare those poor chaps, and yast will stay their best friend, and they believe to be a linux wizzkid!
if they realyzed the truth, that could leave permanen scares! ;-)

AAAA! The light! It's too bright! :-)

You're right, although wether it be SuSE, RedHat, or a different flavor, newbies will be drawn to the GUI tools provided to them. Hopefully, somewhere along the line (I hope at least) there will be a feature they want that the GUI just won't do for them. Then they'll have to take the first scary step into the terminal...

they should start of with gentoo, tough, but after the install -even if it may take some hours/days, they will know linux in-side-out, even if they just follow the documentation gentoo provieds... and they will not be afraid of building their own kernel - which from my newbie times i know is a scarey thought :-)

Eh? I don't consider myself to be a newbie..and I'm comfortable with the command line..and use it when needed, but Yast is beautiful. If you just want to pop in a piece of hardware and have it configured in a minute...SuSE is excellent. It also can do so many things, that I no longer see the need to you use the command line as much. I would much rather take 3 or 4 clicks to install or configure something than do it the long way. Some things that just need to be done quick and easily aren't on a lot of distros. Hey, if you prefer the command line cool...but I rather just get it done fast and easy. Maybe I'm lazy, but so be it .

See, I like YaST on a workstation. Once I get the Linux kernel recompiled to my liking, X.org recompiled for DRI support, etc. then I can use YaST for everything else (except Apache - YaST munches apache conf files and doesn't give you the needed flexibility) and spend my time getting actual work done rather than fudging around with conf and rc files all the time.

On a server, it's a different story; CLI all the way. Great for automating backups. Great for administration and tweaking/tuning. Excellent.

Every tool has its purpose.

I can configure my own system when needed or desired. However I do use SuSE on my laptop and also use Yast for many things.


I just can't believe that everything must be done from an editor when there is a tool for it. However for the many tweeks people want to do there are user config files designed for that purpose.


SuSE along with other mainstream distros are developing the Linux that the world needs. The beauty of it is that you have a choice. Yast works for me.


If your system has X why not use it.

As somewhat stated already a server does not need X. When your talking about the normal home computer most people want a system they can install and configure without too much effort.


Just as an example that comes to me is the fact that I am using wireless a lot. Why do all of the manual configuration every time you go somewhere. The only logical solution is a GUI that shows all of the wireless devices in range so you can simply select the one you want.

Same thing with dialup. Why would you want to keep manually setting up phone numbers and such when you can simply select one of the locations you have configured and get online.

For the average person that just needs to use their computer these tools are not optional.


So you plug in your memory stick, most people just want the folder to open instead of typing a lot of mount commands.

Just think what a nigtmare bluetooth could be without a GUI. So you want to put some files on your ppc and your going to start typing a series of commands for that. You want to transfer some file from your camera or phone.

Windows was developed for people who want to do these things. Just because MS Windows is not that great it does not mean that Linux can't use a windows desktop and still be the powerful system it is.

Sure mplayer works from the command line but if you can slap in a DVD and the movie plays where is the problem.

hi,

I am a reseller and SuSe YAST help alots... Not oll the end user are linux savy, Yast help us help them installing new hardare or application with out us being there every time. Try supporting a State with 7 District with total combine 1000 W/S that run's Slackware... for every thing CLI is used how many support engineer I need to cover the whole state. While with YaST the State Top Management can see that using Linux is actualy good since he can still used GUI.

Imagen Clinton opening his Laptop and the only thing he saw was a blank terminal.... and ecah time he add some thing new he have to complile the kernel source.

So yes for tech guy CLI is vital but for the end user, YAST or equvelent work wonder.

That why people choose and Sell SuSe

i am not saying yast is a bad tool, i am not saying that is was not helpful! the point i am getting at is that yast will prevent some people from getting to know the cli, i am fully aware that some people just want to use it, not know linux, and be happy. that is fine... just those people using yast, and are not able to use the cli, and believe they are great techies... sit them infront
of a cli and they have no clue what to do!

i believe that (from my own experiance)

if you want to get to know linux, yast could be a hinderance...

if you know linux and are able to get things sorted without yast and still want to use yast to speed up the process of getting things installed or configured, great...

if you know linux and are happy with yast, fine!
if you dont even want to get to know linux, but just use it, yast is your way to go!

the obove statements are of course my personal oppinion, please nobody feel offended or attacked.

I'm working on learning the command line, but in the meantime, rather than facing a huge hours-long struggle to install programs and attempt to get/keep things working each time I want to make a change or update the system, YaST keeps me sane I'm just trying to envision what would happen to me if the GUI administration mysteriously vanished from my system... LOL

I'm not ready to be cast adrift in the ocean without a life preserver just yet. If I was, I'd probably hurl my computer out the window, and that would be the end of my Linux experiment There's only so much of dry, highly-technical books you can take before you go batty.

hey... what's with us here at LQ? do you not concider us to ba your "life preserver"