Rather than continuing to boil up a thread on ol' Bluesky I figured I'd log my experiences (thus far) with OpenSUSE.
The Beginning
For those unaware, I dropped Windows back in 2012-2013? Somewhere in there. This kind of risks blowing my cover but during that year of highschool I became the TA to a man who would go on to be one of my mentors when it came to tech. Thanks to him I in fact when from saying "The blue cord thingy that makes computers have internet" to "Cat 5 Ethernet Cable which has been wired to in fact do- blah blah blah" and to keep the story short- he got me into Libre Office (I think) which has been my main writing tool, as an author, ever since... and he got me into Linux because I hated Windows 8 and couldn't figure out how to go back to Windows 7.
I think it was Linux Mint Cinnamon I tried originally- along with the likes of Kubuntu, Ubuntu itself, Fedora for a brief stint? And for the non-techies who have absolutely 0 idea what I am yammering on about, basically uh... I went from Windows 8 (or in today's standard Windows 11) to Windows XP only XP was now free and I could do whatever the hell I wanted with it without being told no by Microsoft... because it wasn't Microsoft. Also I could have multiple work spaces without multiple monitors- I refuse to ever not have work spaces again.
Here is a quick video on it:
Granted I don't recall having all the functionality that is shown in this video that was back then. My how far things have come... but I ended up not sticking with Cinnamon, I ended up with Linux Mint MATE.
What's the difference? Well in my opinion, Mate is more 'old school' in look but... well here's another video (skip forward, the whole video is not necessary just pieces):
If you like that you should see some of the crazy stuff and even my setup. Point is Mate is "old" but cool af.
And that has been my OS for the last decade and to put it to you this way, I have gotten pretty good at running it and fixing issues with it (community help is grand). But I gotta admit... Mint is that "basic gateway drug" so to speak.
You see, Linux has 3 "main" OS's that all others are based on/around and the one I want to focus on is Debian, because Mint comes from that. Debian is the sort of "beginners" version of Linux, specifically some of its variants. Kubuntu, Puppy, Mint, Zorin. They are very akin to Windows in terms of look and feel with the basic under-the-hood that is Debian and Linux. Mint is one of the big ones for newcomers because of this.
So I have always wondered if I should try out some other variation. For a Debian user there really is no point in "trying" another Debian-based Distro. All are basically the same just with some different configurations and programs (for the most part) so that got me looking outside of Debian.
In the same breath while I have used Linux for a decade, I'm not a programming hacking genius, so getting into something more technical wasn't really an option for me. So that brought me to choices like Fedora or OpenSUSE... I won't go into much detail but they aren't Debian-based, they are from different strands.
After a week of back and forth on deciding what I wanted to try- I went for OpenSUSE. And what I got was... shall we say, interesting.
Why I Switched + The Experience
First, allow me to run you through my BlueSky Thread (feel free to skip through)
Aug 25 @2:30: OpenSUSE TW has been loaded and I am installing different applications. Tbh I rather like it already, looking forward to trying it out for awhile and maybe keeping it. But in case I end up not liking it, Mint 22 is ready on a flash drive already lol (also just nice to have).
@6:05: I forgot to mess with the partitions and what not while installing, only gave me a 32 GB drive and left the rest for the original OS. Whoops.
@10:25: Not much for time under my belt but I find myself struggling with Plasma. Chalking this up to beginner's trouble, I'm sure after a few more tutorials I will figure out how to adjust things to my liking like I had on Mate. On another note, the software manager is slow as molasses- mirror adjustment?
Also having problems with adding applications to the task bars where either they refuse to add or they end up vanishing? Maybe I'm just spoiled on Mate as with Mate I can drag an icon wherever manually. Part of why I dislike Cinnamon was because (to my knowledge) it forced apps to left-center-right.
Aug 26 @2:09: Mirrors for downloading and updating and all that jazz are pretty slow. Idk if it's the software itself (Zypper right?) or if it's the mirrors... which I would assume it's the mirrrors? Not like I'll be installing software constantly, certainly not... but if updating is slow as molasses then idk.
1 Hour Later: I have been unable to find a fix for another issue now. My WIFI keeps disconnecting after about 20-30 minutes of up time. Rather inconvenient, especially since I can't find a fix or tutorial for it online.
I was going to give SUSE a week but I might have to back pedal. The wifi thing + the slow mirrors are an annoyance. Plus I believe I can update the PPAs to get the newest software. Like thunderbird on mint 21.3 is V115 and SUSE it's V128. Maybe I should keep SUSE on a different computer for testing
A significantly slow boot time as well, not at all helpful. Rather weird given that I have this all on an SSD. Mdot2 drive I believe.
I installed it while being on and off busy, probably a mistake... but yeah I was having problems the whole time. At first the Desktop Environment, known as KDE Plasma, was giving me trouble.
Without going into that one much, a Desktop Environment (or DE) is basically what you interact with. It's what you "see" when using a computer. Your display, your apps and how they function, etc. And each DE is a little different, with the big 2 in Linux being: GNOME and KDE, and from them come variations such as Cinnamon.
Cinnamon I kinda went over above but it looks good- not as customizable however. Like the big thing for me is when creating taskbars, as I said, you go left or right or center. It is based off of a newer version of Gnome, Gnome 3. Mate (again, video above) was Gnome 2 so older but you could do a lot with it.
KDE Plasma is a completely different breed and admittedly by several Linux Youtubers... great and easily customizable but buggy. And let me tell you what- bugs have been hitting me like mentioned above. Icons/Apps disappearing, struggling to organize them in the taskbar the way I want.
I HAVE gotten used to Plasma and have it figured out by this point... but here's the thing. You might be wondering why DE is relevant... well that's because you can technically pair any DE with any Linux Distro (as far as I know). OpenSUSE has a Mate version, a Cinnamon version. I can make Linux Mint load KDE Plasma if I wanted.
So the DE is NOT the reason for the switch.
No, part of the reason was because OpenSUSE was more or less the next step up from Debian (either it or Fedora would be next up). What's so different?
How you install software, the way commands work, the way it functions "Under the Hood" among other things. I can't really give it justice via words so if you want more, I recommend a channel like Chris Titus or The Linux Experiment.
It's supposed to be more advanced and have newer cutting edge features that make it above the mark for an "Average/Moderate/Experienced" user without crossing into the super technical aspects of some like Arch Linux or Red Hat (I am keeping it basic, sorry to Linux Pros that want to crucify me for saying Super Technical when it can be just as easy).
I didn't want to have to fight with my OS, especially if I (inevitably) fucked something up. But as you can probably gather from up above, again, it's been a pain for me.
Internet going out without me being able to find a solution, be it a driver or some other fault. The installer is slow, the OS loads slow. Plasma is a bit buggy. Being unable to use my keyboard once on the lockscreen?
Things that could probably be patched if I were able to find answers... but that's the big thing- I'm having trouble finding as many answers for OpenSUSE as opposed to Linux Mint/Debian.
Add in the fact that I can update settings so I get the newest software- for example, on Mint my mail app (Thunderbird) is on Version 115 and on OpenSUSE it is on Version 128... if I really wanted to, I could get Version 128 to work on Mint. And again, I can swap between Plasma and Mate on Mint if I wanted.
Given that I can already do basically EVERYTHING I want on Mint with customization and getting newer software and getting help... combined with the installer for SUSE being slow as molasses... like why am I switching?
Just to say I switched? Just to say I'm not on "Baby OS" (which, nah, it ain't "baby os" lol). 71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRm4WvOLQk0
This also is going back into what I researched for a week. There wasn't a lot of practical reasoning besides Programmer reasons as to why OpenSUSE is that much better. The package manager? Flatpak? Terms I am sure that most of anyone who reads this will go "tf does that mean yo?".
The Decision + Why Someone Should Switch to Linux71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQAnnSCg1jQ
Maybe if I spent more time with understanding it, I'd go for it. And you know- I will be spending time with it. I can probably still use OpenSUSE as a dual boot or a virtual machine to test different settings and programs, or see what's new and up to date (or I could go Arch at that point). And then I just stick with Mint for my main stuff. Can always switch in the future.
See, that's the beauty of Linux. You do with it what you want, you make it your own. It isn't a set experience like Microsoft Windows or Mac OS. It can be for the most basic of user that only knows how to launch Firefox and check their email, or for those who know how to code and modify the engine of the Operating System. Plus... it's more private.
In light of what Microsoft is doing with Windows 11, with their privacy and EULA settings, most people aren't going to care. Most are going to look at an OS on a monitor and go "Oh that's a cool version of Windows" or be the kind to go "My computer won't turn on" when the PC is on but the monitor is off (Monitor = PC to them).
But for those who care, I would recommend looking into it and making the switch. I was a novice that got into constant trouble with my Linux in the past, and I have learned a lot + it has only gotten easier with time.
Before her passing I had my Grandmother lined up to give Linux a try because she was sick of the privacy bs with Windows and how annoying various features had gotten (plus AI being shoved into everyone's face). And trust me, she was NOT a techie. Not as bad as my old man who will be confused on how to change the channel if you hop him from Dish to Direct TV; but still.
My gamer of a brother is considering switching, most of the people that pay attention to this kind of crap (privacy and terms and all that) even are debating a switch. Plus Linux runs on older hardware where as atm I think you need a particular chipset or something physical regarding your computer in order to even get Windows 11 to work? Yeah try that when 10's support phase runs out and they stop supporting it (by then 11 will probably be cleared to run on older machines but still).
I would seriously consider going into it... and who knows, maybe I should take this as an opportunity to do some sort of "Linux for Beginners" series on Youtube (SCREW IT, DOING IT!!!)
But back to the topic of OpenSUSE... yeah, not going to make it my main system for the time being. It'll certainly turn into a testing/experimental OS for me but not my main. My new laptop had Windows 11, then it got OpenSUSE, and now it's getting Mint 22 Mate (and probably KDE Plasma alongside the Mate, since I can switch between the 2 Desktop versions).
But ya know, what do you guys think? Curious about Linux or already a Linux vet? Any clue as to wtf I talked about even with this? Let me know with some comments!!71Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvrwV3GSoNM
