Switching Operating Systems
I’ve been writing this post for a couple of days now, which is a bit unusual for me, so grab a coffee because I’m about to go into a pretty long one, so long I’ve had to split the topic into two parts. For this first post I’ll be talking about Linux, open-source, microsoft and specifically the new SUSE Enterprise Desktop distribution from Novell.
I’ve been a Windows user ever since I actually started using a computer. Over the past few years I’ve become more and more disenfranchised with the actual system. The reason behind this is very simple. I’ve been using the same environment for over 5 years now. Some would say well that this means I’m perfectly happy with the system that I’m actually using. In some ways I am, but that’s more due to familiarlity rather than anything else. The easiest way to put this into perspective is the difference I feel when using Firefox and if I’m FORCED to use Internet Explorer for some shitty programme at work (usually the bane of my life, timesheets).
In the same way that the Mozilla foundation took on Microsoft for a position in the web browser market and kept on pushing and pushing so is Novell primed to try and emulate that success, however taking on Microsoft at something that even Apple has found it terribly difficult to do and that’s take a decent slice out of the coorporate market. With this release Novell provides a completely viable alternative that is both INNOVATIVE, fresh and well thought out.
With that though in mind, Windows hasn’t really moved forward in these 5 years. Oh sure we’re “blessed” with SP1 and SP2 along with a couple of sellotape additions to the operating systems but it’s the same innovation that made Mozilla a player in the browser market that’s going to make Novell a contender for a slice of the desktop market and take it away from Vista. The truth of the matter is that I’ve not actually played around with this new OS (it’s currently in private beta). I’m just running on what I’ve been able to find out over at the Novell website which was enough to get me completely excited about the whole thing. You can also have a look at some preview videos showcasing the new operating system.
Environment
Gone is the slightly dated KDE icons. I remember when I saw these icons a while ago I thought they were the best thing since sliced cheese. I honestly really liked what I saw here (even used it for ages as my windows skin as well) but I think it’s a very wise decision for Novell to ditch those icons and go back to the GNome interface. It’s slightly more sedated and slicker in my opinion, combined with the rest of the interface design. The typography seems to be very clear, and the design is very simple on the eyes and very intuative.
The first aspect that I seriously like is their ‘computer’ area. It’s simple and clear and very well thought out. Why is it a start menu or a little apple icon? It’s all to do with your computer and should be called as such. This I’m sure is all part of the Better Desktop initiative that is actually sponsored by Novell.
Usability
For me the single biggest aspect of it all is the fact that the Search function becomes the single most important aspect of the design. It’s found everywhere you go and in all honesty this is a great move. Now you don’t have to look for an application based on a massive list of links but rather you search for what kind of thing you want done, which is a concept that really works for me.
There are several enhancements to this desktop environment that are very exciting. Mainly the multiple desktop feature which has been a standard for many Linux distributions for a good long while now. It’s nice to have a great animated way to go through the multiple desktops. The ‘alt-tab’ function where you get a preview of the application is another fantastic addition to this environment as well. As well as the OS X tiled windows on the same screen feature also looks like a nice addition to it’s already impressive arsenal.
Of course the extra additions of being able to search through conversations emails, etc is another fantastic addition/feature.
Cost
It seem that we’ll be able to download the latest version from Novell from the web directly. If we’re up for getting bug fixes and other cool little things directly to our environment without any hassle etc, then the price is probably going to be $50 for 7 years or whatever. I’m seriously considering getting the full user experience just because I know I’m going to jump into this head first. We all know that the initial release will probably not be as powerful as the further releases that will hope to fill in the gaps that nearly all releases end up having.Maybe I’m making far too much out of nothing. I’ve tried other linux distributions in the past that have been hailed as the second coming, and to be honest I’ve not be overtly impressed. However one thing I’m definitely sure about is that I’ve not been this excited to try and play around with an operating system in nearly 5 years, since XP was released.
The bad news
According to this article the shipping date has been delayed to at least 17th of July...to address final issues with our new package management, registration, and update system and also fix the remaining blocker defects.
I’m sure I’ll be able to grab a copy of the software before this date, but I think I’ll wait a little while and make sure a few of the bugs are ironed out before I make the leap. I might play around with the Live CD (for those in the dark about such things, Linux Live CD/DVDs enable you to check the operating system without actually installing it).
Join me for Part 2 when I talk about what this move means to the software I use as a designer and illustrator. Linux isn’t traditionally known as a platform that has the software that the creative community requires, namely Adobe and Macromedia (it will always be macromedia to me) products. The answers might surprise you.
I’m an Ubuntu user even though the first distro i tried was Suse, but back in the day, it wasn’t as polished as it is now.
Ever since Novell started their Better Desktop iniative i’ve allways been amazed by the cleaness & organization of their default desktop.
However, the use of RPM’s have left me with no choice but to not use their distro :|
But anyway, being “somewhat” a designer that has a partition with Windows just cause of what you said in the end, i’ll be eager to read about your opinion in part 2 :)
↓ Quote | 20/6/2006
No matter how great this distro may be (hell, there’s WAY too many Linux distro’s anyway) it’s still Linux. The OS that lacks solid creative apps like Adobe CS, Flash, video editing software or music software. Sure there’s GIMP and some other things but they just can’t even stand in the shadows of their commercial counterparts.
I’ve been a long time Linux / FreeBSD user myself but I switched to Apple when OS X 10.0 came out. I just have to be able to use solid creative software.
Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE linux. But on a server. It’s doesn’t even come close to Mac OS X or even Windows (gah!) for desktop use unless all you do is use internet apps and type some notes in OpenOffice.
An OS can only be truly great if all necessary apps are available. BeOS was great. But there were no apps. OS/2 was great. But there were no apps. And there’s more awesome desktop operating systems without the necessary apps. It’s a true shame but yet it’s a reality. I’m sure this distro is great. If only the right apps were available…
↓ Quote | 20/6/2006
Andre, it’s interesting you should mention the RPMs. I believe this is one aspect that Novell has tried to address in this particular version. Also I see you’re not exactly a GIMP fan either. That’s ok, it turns out there’s a couple of pretty viable options out there. Wait for the second post :).
Marco, I hear you on the requirement for apps that make the system which is why I’m going to be covering that area of the discussion in the next installment (keep in mind what you wrote here).
↓ Quote | 20/6/2006
I’m curious about the next part! I must admit I’m a bit out of the Linux Desktop scene since I switched to Macs in 2002…
I just hope you’re not going to say something like the fact that you can run the windows versions in either a virtual machine or an emulation layer such as Wine or one of it’s commercial incarnations ;-)
↓ Quote | 20/6/2006
No way, as Franchesco (my Linux and open source guru) says:
I did ask him a year ago when I tried this out the first time round if that was possible, which it is, except it’s not as great as just running the app in windows natively. Nah, I’m taking the leap and not even letting myself with a backdoor, otherwise I WILL turn back because I’m lazy like that :).
↓ Quote | 21/6/2006
Now you really got me looking forward to the next part ;-)
↓ Quote | 21/6/2006
Good for you. I’ve tried KDE and GNOME, and although lots of people seem to like KDE better, I agree with you - GNOME is a much better interface. I didn’t go with SuSE mainly because I was a Linux newbie, so instead I used Ubuntu, which I’ve been toying around for a while.
I have tried SuSE on a Live CD and it impressed me - I went with Ubuntu because I heard it was good for people new to Linux.
↓ Quote | 21/6/2006
I recently lost my final motivations to use Windows, when I successfully and easily installed both IE 6 and Adobe Photoshop 7.0 on my Ubuntu machine (using Wine.) IE 6 is a little crashy (what’s new?), but Photoshop runs like a dream.
↓ Quote | 21/6/2006
Khaled: i believe tat my problem with Gimp is that i used Photoshop before i tried Gimp. Had it been some other way, i’d prolly like it.
Steven: i think that either Suse or Ubuntu are good distros for any newbie and non-newbies to Linux. They are the ones who put the most effort in the user experience for the desktop or something that i like to refer as the “Just Works” ideology :)
↓ Quote | 21/6/2006
oops … sorry for the engrish :) (”i believe t*h*at my …”)
↓ Quote | 21/6/2006
I have to agree with you on that. If there’s one thing that Apple has over Microsoft, it’s the fact that they do their best to improve, enhance, or alter Mac OS X every year, bringing a fresh experience to anyone who may have become “bored” with Mac OS X. And, I’m sure that most of the millions of Windows users who have been waiting for the long-overdue Vista can agree with me on that.
I prefer to fend off these fits of “OS boredom” by keeping a low-cost laptop lying nearby with my preferred secondary OS on it, just to add a little bit of variety to my computing experience. Up until two years ago, that secondary laptop was powered by Windows XP, but after three years, I became bored with Windows XP, purchased a newer low-end iBook, and installed Kubuntu. And, just this month, I switched to using Ubuntu.
That was one of the main reasons behind my switch from Kubuntu to Ubuntu. When I was originally investigating the thought of installing a Linux OS on my secondary laptop, I thought that KDE and its shiny kid-like icons would be the best way to go, but I was wrong. To put this in as few words as possible, Gnome places less focus on cuteness and more on usability and cleanliness.
Have you tried the latest release of Ubuntu? I’m actually quite pleased with it. The Ubuntu developers have made some excellent progress in their campaign to provide a user-friendly Linux OS that “Just Works”. The default installation process is incredibly user-friendly with absolutely no compiling or command line knowledge required. It also includes almost every application that you would ever need to get started in the world of Linux, an easy-to-use installer for additional applications, and an easy-to-use software update engine. At its core, Ubuntu seems to be more user-friendly than the upcoming SUSE Enterprise Desktop 10. On the other hand, the Ubuntu developers prefer to focus on core usability and leave the interface design to the Gnome team and its users regarding customization and the use of third-party Gnome themes, so SUSE Enterprise Desktop 10 may have an advantage over Ubuntu with the proprietary in-house enhancements that Novell as added to Gnome.
In any case, I strongly recommend that you give the latest release of Ubuntu a few minutes of your time while you’re waiting for SUSE Enterprise Desktop 10 to be released.
↓ Quote | 21/6/2006
I’m pretty happy with my Ubuntu system but I’m tempted to install SUSE in a QEMU virtual machine and give it a spin. I just like to see how the other half lives…
↓ Quote | 21/6/2006
James, I’ve got the latest SUSE release (not the enterprise version, the open source version) and will probably give that a go later on tonight on the Live CD.
I’ve heard some pretty good things about Draper Drake (latest Ubuntu) but we’ll have to see if I like the Novell version more (which I’m kind of thinking I will).
Like you say the inhouse enhancements to Gnome and open office are what make this upcoming SUSE distro something special which I’m really looking forward to.
I’ve got to say that I might even exchange my icons for those given in the tango project once everything is up and running…
↓ Quote | 21/6/2006
OpenOffice also ships with Ubuntu. In fact, Ubuntu is what got me started as an OpenOffice fan. Did Novell also make enhancements to OpenOffice, similar to their Gnome enhancements, for the upcoming SUSE Enterprise Desktop 10?
↓ Quote | 21/6/2006
Yup aparently they’ve actually enhanced the crappy macro support so that this is an easy transition between the two. It’s steps like this that I want to see which will allow the software to evolve. They have to clean their house and then actually turn their attention to other applications. Thankfully not everything needs to be done by them, but in certain areas they do need to devote some time to enable a clean transition.
↓ Quote | 21/6/2006
Oh well. First off, welcome to Linux again. I am using Kubuntu (with KDE obviously :) right now. On my other PCs I have Gentoo 2006.0, completely customized to run like I want it to. The way I see it, K/Ubuntu is just for learning the basics about Linux. There is no fun on those distros!. Until you install something that comes with no X or no Kernel, you will not learn and have fun messing with stuff at the same time.
First I installed Ubuntu and used it for like 3 months, then I switched to Arch (I really recommend you this distro if you want to really learn more about Linux). Finally I switched to Gentoo.
About KDE, I don’t agree with these statements. Maybe GNOME is more cute, but believe me, it it’s not as good, well designed and customizable as KDE can be. Start KDE, play with it for a while, use Konqueror, use Akregator, use amaroK, use Konversation, use Kopete… Configure every aspect of your system with KControl. Customize it.
Maybe, right now it’s not “cute” (or maybe it looks “windows-ish”, such an unfair statement) as default. But it is so customizable. Try to make shortcuts to open apps in Gnome, or maybe a shortcut to Maximize a Window in Gnome. You can do almost everything with DCOP in KDE. Try the KDE’s Keyboard Layout Switcher then try Gnome’s. Tell me, is it as customizable as the KDE one? Try KControl then try the 8158185185 different applications to configure your Gnome enviroment.
The only thing you can see that is maybe easier on Gnome is installing GTK+ and Metacity themes. Everything else, like installing Icons, installing cursor themes, everything.
Just try KDE…
Ah, and btw, I know my english sucks. lol.
↓ Quote | 22/6/2006
Khaled: How come you didn’t consider Apple’s OS X? (seems like you didn’t).
↓ Quote | 22/6/2006
Josue, what you trying to do flame me? Lol. I’ve talked about my apprehension to dive into the Apple arena. It’s not about the actual products themselves, which I think generally speaking are pretty well thought out, it more about the culture and how ‘closed’ the system feels to me. It’s also the culture. Something about millions of people preaching the virtues of a corporation doesn’t really follow my ethic.
On a more practical side, I’ve already got a PC that’s doing it’s job just fine with the odd mishap. Apart from a need to upgrade ram I’m ok in terms of hardware. Cost isn’t that much of an issue since if I really wanted a mac I’d go and get a G5 sometime tomorrow, except 2 months later apple would release the latest shinest bigger better product that I would ‘have’ to own and so the cycle continues.
I’ve thought about it, but to be honest it’s not for me, not at this particular moment in time. Maybe if this all falls apart I think about it, never say never, but I’ve never taken the easy way out of things. I like challenges make my life more interesting.
↓ Quote | 22/6/2006