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Desktop Linux Showdown

Desktop Linux Showdown
Written By
Jason Brooks
Jason Brooks
Nov 27, 2007
3 minute read
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Desktop Linux Showdown

Desktop Linux Showdown

OpenSUSEs configuration tools are broken out into perhaps too many separate pieces.


2

Theres a search box to help cut through the control panel maze, but it doesnt always deliver. To find font configuration tools, I should have been searching for appearance.


3

OpenSUSE relies on Beagle for desktop search.


Desktop Linux Showdown – Bluetooth via Beagle

4

I wanted to check out OpenSUSEs Bluetooth functionality, and Beagle led me to the spot.


Desktop Linux Showdown – Bluetooth on Fedora

5

I was able to transfer files between my Treo and my Fedora 8-based test notebook, but I could not get the two talking via Fedoras new Phone Manager application.


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Ubuntu turns to Tracker for its desktop search needs.


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Desktop Linux Showdown – Kerry Beagle Front End

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OpenSUSEs KDE implementation also leans on Beagle for desktop search. I find the KDE Beagle front end, Kerry, more useful than the GNOME-based version.


Desktop Linux Showdown – Evolution Backup and Restore

8

GNOME 2.20, shown here on Fedora 8, comes with a very useful backup and restore feature for Evolution. Ubuntu 7.10 also includes this option, but the version of Evolution that comes with OpenSUSE, strangely, does not.


Desktop Linux Showdown – Online Desktop Demo

9

Fedora 8 offers an early look at Red Hats Online Desktop initiative. At this point, the software amounts to little more than a handful of links to online services.


Desktop Linux Showdown – Online Desktop in Action

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Fedora 8s online desktop demo connected me, through Firefox, to a set of online services.


Desktop Linux Showdown – Tomboy Tasks

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As implemented in OpenSUSE, the Tomboy note-taking tool (which is one of my favorite applications) offers an integrated task list option that Ubuntu and Fedoras Tomboy implementations lack.


Desktop Linux Showdown – OpenOffice.org 2.3

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Ubuntu 7.10 (shown here), OpenSUSE 10.3 and Fedora 8 all ship with the OpenOffice.org 2.3 office productivity suite.


Desktop Linux Showdown – OOXML Support

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The version of OpenOffice.org that ships with OpenSUSE supports Microsofts OOXML format. Ubuntu also offers this support, while Fedora does not.


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Desktop Linux Showdown – Restricted Software Repository

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Ubuntu 7.10 made it easy to enable ATIs proprietary graphics adapter driver-once I enabled the ‘restricted’ software repository.


Desktop Linux Showdown – Driver Installation

15

OpenSUSEs driver installation utility looked promising, but it didnt manage to enable my test systems ATI driver.


Desktop Linux Showdown – KDE Start Menu

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OpenSUSEs KDE implementation is very slick. The OpenSUSE 10.3 KDE Start Menu, for instance, definitely outshines that of its GNOME cousin.


Desktop Linux Showdown – More KDE Start Menu

17

OpenSUSEs KDE Start Menu returns search results as you type.


Desktop Linux Showdown – My OpenSUSE Computer

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OpenSUSEs KDE implementation sports a rather handy system state overview page.


Desktop Linux Showdown – Kubuntu 7.10

19

Ubuntu boasts a KDE implementation of its own.


Desktop Linux Showdown – Delta RPM

20

OpenSUSE features bandwidth-saving delta RPM (Red Hat Package Manager) update support. Neither Fedora nor Ubuntu offers this capability.


Desktop Linux Showdown – Debconf

21

Ubuntus package configuration application, Debconf, is a big competitive advantage for the distribution.


Desktop Linux Showdown – Zypper

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The new OpenSUSE 10.3 command-line software management tool, Zypper, presents information effectively.


Desktop Linux Showdown – Resolve Dependency Problems

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OpenSUSEs software tools offer very granular options for resolving package dependency problems.


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Desktop Linux Showdown – More Dependency Resolution

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OpenSUSEs software dependency-resolving tools work from the command line, as well.


Desktop Linux Showdown – Are You Sure You Want to Remove That?

25

Fedoras software management tools warned me about removing an old kernel version from my test system.

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