Novell released OpenSuse 10.3 Thursday, its latest free version of the open-source operating system.
Fancy 3D effects include windows that flame out when closed.
(Credit: Novell)For those who need a refresher, OpenSuse is the faster-moving but mostly unsupported version of Linux from Novell and various outside contributors. It competes most directly with Linux versions such as Canonical's Ubuntu and Red Hat's Fedora. Novell has tried for years to pit it against Windows as well, even as it cooperates with Microsoft in a legally thorny partnership. Novell's supported product, Novell's Suse Linux Enterprise Server, is sold in the form of an annual support subscription.
Like most versions of Linux, OpenSuse has a choice of graphical interfaces. Version 10.3 includes new versions of the two most widely used, GNOME 2.20 and KDE 3.5.7, along with some elements of the forthcoming KDE 4.
Novell has been an eager adopter of fancy interface graphics, and 10.3 includes the Compiz and Compiz Fusion infrastructure for 3D effects such as desktop workspaces that map to the faces of a cube, or slightly blurred background windows, or windows that burst into flames upon closing. For those who want to head the other direction, version 4.4.1 of the minimalist graphics interface XFCE is an option.
You can either download OpenSuse for free or buy a $60 two-DVD set with a manual 90 days of installation help.
There are some notable new features, according to Novell and OpenSuse News:
• Version 2.6.22 of the Linux kernel.
• Xen 3.1 and VirtualBox 1.5 virtualization software, handy for running Windows software but a complicated technology. Also included is virtual machine configuration support in the Yast management tool and an experimental version of the KVM virtualization software.
• A one-click install option to more easily add OpenSuse packages stored online.
• A new set of installation discs. Instead of coming on 5 CDs, OpenSuse comes on just one--one for KDE and a different for GNOME--with extras downloadable. Alternatively, the whole kit and caboodle is on a DVD.
• Easier installation support for proprietary audio and video "codecs" needed to decode files. When the Amarok or Banshee media players encounter an MP3 file for the first time, a dialog box will appear presenting the option to download the MP3 codec.
Programmers have released the first beta version of Ubuntu Linux with new flash technology--in two senses of the term.
Compiz software enables flashy 3D effects, such as this 'wobbly windows' plug-in.
(Credit: Compiz.org)First, Ubuntu is finally following leading Linux versions from Red Hat and Novell that include snazzy 3D graphics in the user interface. Specifically, the version 7.10 "Gutsy Gibbon" beta uses Compiz Fusion, software that uses OpenGL graphics technology to make windows transparent, map desktops to the faces of a cube, let windows wobble as if made of JELL-O or zoom them for quick magnification. Various 3D effects can be downloaded and plugged in. Some folks find this eye candy to be a CPU-sucking annoyance, but Mac OS X and Windows Vista have it, and a lot of enthusiasts find it an engaging domain.
Personally, I've only toyed with the 3D effects and haven't been won over, but I think it could provide an important foundation for more revolutionary interface changes.
Second, the beta version includes a preview version of Gnash, an open-source incarnation of Adobe Systems' Flash software for animations and video streaming. It's still in development and "not yet fully supported by Ubuntu," but it brings some Flash support to those who want to move fully to 64-bit software.
For those using the GNOME user interface, printers are automatically configured when plugged in, project organizers said.
On the server side, the Gutsy Gibbon beta includes the AppArmor released by Novell to provide more security by isolating software applications and restricting their privileges more tightly.
Gutsy Gibbon is due to be completed October 18.
We'll see if Walt Mossberg can be convinced this time around. If not, Gutsy Gibbon's successor, Hardy Heron, is due in April 2008. It'll be the second Ubuntu release to get long-term support, which lasts five years for server versions and three years for desktop versions.
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