Novell Releases SUSE Linux Enterprise RC3

MrHoolio writes "Yesterday morning Novell publicly annouced the free availability of release candidate 3 of the SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 products. Both the server edition and the desktop edition work with XGL out of the box. A serious step forward in the Linux desktop market, Novell claims this will go head-to-head to rival Windows on the enterprise level. It implements a whole new menu system on top of Gnome that is very well thought-out. It has incredible hardware support for a Linux distro."

"Incredible"

[the linux geek]

It seems like "Incredible" is awfully vague. What I really want is out-of-the-box support for my nVidia card (common enough with non-FOSS distros) and my crappy Netgear WG111 wireless USB adapter. In general, wireless, sound, and to a lesser extent graphics support are what plagues Linux. Of course, Windows isn't really any better; they just have the advantages of actually having drivers developed for them by third parties, which is still relatively scarce in the Linux world.

apps and peripherals

[zogger]

All major distros install fine now, so what is left is how they deal with your hardware, that is the #1 important part now that really needs to be "fixed" in linux land, any distro. Any distro out there can function as a web surfer, email client and word processor,all that crap works now just fine, but how about printing and other various USB devices? How about all the other do-dads that the vendors are pushing now that come either USB or to a lesser extent firewire? I've been on a search for the best distro with the best hardware detection AND configuration. It not only has to find and see the device, said device MUST repeat MUST become functional within a few clicks or it is "broken". I am no longer buying more hardware trying to find the magic combination of distroX and add-ons. I am no longer playing with distros because this or that desktop window manager has "cool new features" and they now offer a thousand new semi functional applications. That is irrelevant, it is already "good enough". Fix the dang bugs! Make what is already out there "just work".

People want to know how to "make money" with open source? Frikkin easy to answer that one. Offer a distro that actually installs and configs external devices flawlessly. That's worth paying for. Your monitor gets nailed, sound WORKS first time every time, printers work, cams work, and etc. That stuff. Not half assed semi-works and have to haunt google for weeks to find the magic incantantion.

    All the other stuff,IMO, perpetual fast release cycle beta broken ware.

    I don't care one bit if they release two or three times a year if the stuff doesn't work (Hi Fedora!), I prefer one good solid release once in awhile, a year or two, with just security updates, that's plenty. I don't need 5 CDs full of broken ware,90% of which I and the vast bulk of the computing public will never, ever use, I want one CD with some normal apps and ****superb hardware detection and installation****. That's the killer make it or break it "app" for me now. Beyuond that, sure, have it offered, but stick to one cd tops for a basic install, and everything on that CD works. If it doesn't stick it elsewhere and label it truthfully as alphaware.

I'll see how the reviews go on this latest suse, the forums tell the tale.