Thread: SUSE Vs Ubuntu

I have been using Ubuntu for a few months now and i have to agree that there is nothing better that i have come across.But somebody recently suggested to have a look at SUSE as well . So here i am now trying to have a much better idea about SUSE.
I have downloaded free 60 day evaluation of SUSE 10 and am about to install it but was just wondering if some of you would be willing to share your experiences.I think both are great distros and from the looks of distro watch both are top ones but I would like to hear opinions of those in this community.

So just gimme a reason why one is better and other is not?

I dunno if Open suse is different from SUSE, if its not i'd rather suggest that you stay with ubuntu. But if u r a experienced linux user then go for it no problems.

Originally Posted by Indian777

I have been using Ubuntu for a few months now and i have to agree that there is nothing better that i have come across.But somebody recently suggested to have a look at SUSE as well . So here i am now trying to have a much better idea about SUSE.
I have downloaded free 60 day evaluation of SUSE 10 and am about to install it but was just wondering if some of you would be willing to share your experiences.I think both are great distros and from the looks of distro watch both are top ones but I would like to hear opinions of those in this community.

So just gimme a reason why one is better and other is not?

Instead of the trial version, u could have downloaded Opensuse

Hey techie just doing it now as we speak.So have you guys used both Ubuntu and Suse? I mean what differences have you found in both which one is better in which way i mean i can talk about Ubuntu but nothing on SUSE 's part.Would be great if i can get some input.

Originally Posted by Indian777

Hey techie just doing it now as we speak.So have you guys used both Ubuntu and Suse? I mean what differences have you found in both which one is better in which way i mean i can talk about Ubuntu but nothing on SUSE 's part.Would be great if i can get some input.

Found OpenSuse to be a bit confusing for me. And i lost nearly 110MB that day because the OS started updating by itself without any intimidation. Removed it without hesitation. Sorry.

I would prefer Fedora over OpenSuse anyday.

OpenSuse has a nice control panel, which works nicely. Opensuse users don't need to touch terminal, on usaual times.

Whereas with Ubuntu, for tweaking you have to get your hands dirty

basic working of all the distros are almost same. the only differance is some may pack more features into their OS, some work to provide better visualization. If u are using Linux just to get a feel of it, any distribution is fine.

Originally Posted by Gary4gar

OpenSuse has a nice control panel, which works nicely. Opensuse users don't need to touch terminal, on usaual times.

Whereas with Ubuntu, for tweaking you have to get your hands dirty

Totally agree.Even the interface is better since SuSE 9 onwards.Also used Mandriva 2008 ,used compiz fusion without any problem, but for Ubuntu ,compiz was a real problem maker.

OpenSuse is supported by Novell and hence it is a good reason to go with it - not that Ubuntu is bad.

i have tried my hand on OpenSuse too but found ubuntu as far much better distro than suse, i understand user interface is good in suse but still there is no problem with ubuntu too the only thing which you need to know is- how to customize ubuntu according to your needs and requirements. I got all my applications installed on ubuntu and it works great for me

If you want you can try suse there is no harm but at last you will come back to ubuntu only

Originally Posted by Indian777

I have been using Ubuntu for a few months now and i have to agree that there is nothing better that i have come across.But somebody recently suggested to have a look at SUSE as well . So here i am now trying to have a much better idea about SUSE.
I have downloaded free 60 day evaluation of SUSE 10 and am about to install it but was just wondering if some of you would be willing to share your experiences.I think both are great distros and from the looks of distro watch both are top ones but I would like to hear opinions of those in this community.

So just gimme a reason why one is better and other is not?

I tried Open Suse 11 and Ubuntu 7.10. Interface of Open Suse is much better than Ubuntu 7.10. I don't know about Ubuntu 8.10. I recently got it's DVD and i didn't find any problem in Open Suse. If you can customize properly, according to your needs, then every distro is good for you.

Opensuse 11.1 DVD i am using KDE 4.1.1
Its very cool. Hardware detected all. Even my all in printer got detected...and all scan, print software is present. Gotta however downloaded extra things like mp3 support, flsah and vlc..which as piece of cake. Had problem with certain issues like accesssing ntfs, session lockout...but reading forums all got solved.If one is trying follow the various posts.. Give min 30 Gb for this distro.
Make 3 partitions one of 10 gb root; one of 16gb home; and one 4gb swap(cos i have 4gb ram)
I have come accustomed to it very much..... now no use of going back to windows. Everything inside it. As one guy said it updated 110MB...without acknowleging....but in my case it informed to me that updates are ready..and i manually selected them to download them.I am very satisfied.....but i will tell u only windows power user or regular linux user try it. New to linux should first stick with ubuntu. Ubuntu is also a great distro which is good for new and experienced user.
Try both of then give them some time then judge.

My vote for opensuse 11.1.

SUSE isn't a wise choice, OpenSuse is.. though user forums are absolutely the BEST for *ubuntu family. I have never come across a problem that didn't have a solution mentioned in the forums.

On the other hand, novell has created an absolute genius of a software called YAST.

So when it comes down to suse vs ubuntu, just ask yourself this.. YAST or user forums?

Havent tried OpenSUSE but have heard that ubuntu is better

OpenSuse is a rpm-based distro while Ubuntu is Debian-based. And yeah, apt-get kicks ass over yast, anyday!!

I was using fedora earlier. then i got open suse. also i got ubuntu 8. before checking opensuse i thought i will see ubuntu.

i installed ubuntu and found its interface like fedora only. Only thing better was a lot of help built in. like if u click on a mp3 file, and don't have a mp3 codec, a message appears saying that u don't have required codec and to install it a link was given. once selected for it the codec got installed and mp3 was working fine. But for me if everything is readily available, its like windows only. No challenge, boring.

Then i installed opensuse 11. i selected KDE desktop. the desktop appearance and effects are amazing. it is far more better than that of ms vista. believe me !!

I had a real challenge in automating bsnl's night downloads. searched on net and got a solution. made a file with some codes, made it executable, then did a corntab, it was really exciting. Now i am completely satisfied with opensuse 11.

My vote to opensuse 11.
Give it a try, you will not go back

I don not have much of an experience in LINUX, but love to R & D. Both opensuse and mandriva now come with compiz, and the latest KDE GUI with all those compiz animations, is just stunning.I love both.
Tried almost all sorts of ubuntu, even ordered the ubuntu CDs (ubuntu, edubuntu, kubuntu and an add-on CD) from the site, got them within 3 weeks. But the main problem occurred when there was a scarcity of drivers for my PC. It did not detect my graphics card, or the pinnacle TV tuner, and the GUI was not also that attractive as well.
But both opensuse and mandriva came with all the drivers and I did not have to configure a single piece of hardware except for changing the resolution, and between these two Mandriva worked better than suse as compiz was more crispy in mandiva than suse and was bit more user friendly but on the other hand suse had a little bit better GUI than mandriva, so it’s a two way tie between suse and mandriva.
I have downloaded almost all DVD and CD version of both installable and LIVE LINUX distros in last 3 years and tried them.

In live versions Knoppix 6, the latest, has included compiz and the looks are marvelous.

So finally knoppix wins for the best GUI in LIVE distro segment and a tie between opensuse and mandriva in the installer segment in my opinion. Your opinion may vary.

I've tried only Ubuntu so far... And its kool...
Only had wi-fi driver issues in 8.9 version(Hardy)... Yet to test it on 8.10(Interpid)!

i too have used ubuntu 8.10 only and its good....

kde 4.4.3 is too damn slow .... but it looks very good .......... its at least easier than customizing Gnome's visuals ......

Originally Posted by ShAdOwCoN

kde 4.4.3 is too damn slow .... but it looks very good .......... its at least easier than customizing Gnome's visuals ......

But I don't feel any sluggishness.

I am using the x64 version of Mndriva 2009 on my AMD 64.

Really ?? I too am surprised because i have 3GB of DDR2 ram .... so was very surprised to see that it was slow

I had installed kde separately a few months after installing Ubuntu 8.10 ...... dunno what the problem is

but i read reports in the news that kde 4.1.3 is in a transition state of development and so is a bit slow

I am also using it in my Fedora 10, and not facing much problems. I did feel some problems (sluggishness and firefox used to freeze after about 10 mins always). But, they ended soon after I put it upto date (Updated Fedora).

I have a little less RAM, 2.5 GB , but there may be some other reason, it may not be the RAM .

when i open a new window or a file , the screen becomes crappy (like somebody scribbled on it with crayon) for half a second , before the app opens , and it takes atleast a second to open a new window .... menus are very slow they have a like u said sluggish/laggy feel... i dont face this issue in Gnome or xp

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