OpenSUSE 11.2 the Perfect KDE Distribution

I see no overt "hype" or "hyperbole" in the article. Obviously, the author didn't encounter the hardware problems you claim to have encountered. If you found SUSE 11.2 "problematic," did you report said findings as bugs? Pull the stick out already. It was a well-written, detailed personal review. And that's all.

The hype and hyperbole is in the headline. It is a fawning fan review. If you like that, fine. Resorting to insults ("pull the stick out") because you don't like my opinion won't convince me of anything or help make a point.

I agree with Caitlyn's opinion here. The whole "perfect distro" is something to drive wedges between open source/free software advocates.

Everyone is so accustomed to a single, monopoly product absolutely dominating any given market, that they're looking for something that not only doesn't exist, but shouldn't and can't exit.

It's like saying everyone should wear briefs, or eveyone should wear boxers, or everyone should wear thongs.

I doubt I could come up with a more certain way to derail a thread.

Seriously you guys, lighten up. Caitlyn, are you really championing the position that we can't claim a distro as our favorite without a lawyer-like disclaimer included in the article's title? "Free" so long as everyone does things in a way you like, eh?

@HoT: Yes, caitlyn is way too wound up on the subject, don't panic. You're right; if she had tested the distro and found problems, it would be constructive to contribute with bug reports and such. If I remember correctly, she's admonished others likewsie in the past herself. You were doing great right up until the stick comment.

@phsolide: pick a side, fan the flames, widen the gulf. :)

Of all the things we could possibly get our undies in a twist over . . . with friends like this, who needs microsoft? :)

Death before thongs!!!!

@dumper4311: I bit my tongue and held back what I was originally going to post. Of course anyone can have a favorite. No problem and I am not trying to tell anyone what to run and what not to run. People are free to run whatever they want. Don't read more into my words than what I said.

Calling something "perfect" when it can't possibly be is the best way to set up false expectations for Linux. That plays into Microsoft and their support's hands more than my saying the language should be tempered and more realistic.

> ...are you really championing the position that we can't claim a distro as our favorite without a lawyer-like disclaimer included in the article's title?

You don't recognize a difference between favorite and perfect?

@jdixon, et al: Don't be pedantic. It's obvious to anyone capable of independent thought that the article is an opinion piece. In the author's opinion (as he states) it is the "perfect KDE Distribution". I simply find it amusing that so many in this "community" are so obsessive and intolerant that they'd chose to make this otherwise insignificant title an issue.

@caitlyn: Feel free to post whatever you have to say. It's not me demonstrating a thin skin. :) I actually agree with you insofar as I think he's overstated the issue. But where the author has overstated the distro's accomplishments, you've gone out of your way to tear down the same distro, just a little bit.

Please explain to me how you're actions are any better than the author of the original piece, and how your initial comment doesn't help MS just as much as his poorly chosen title?

Or, we could all just recognize that it wasn't really that big a deal in the first place. :)

Quoting: Death before thongs!!!!

Yay, something I can agree with! Thank you!

I also agree that getting torqued over "perfect" in the headline is silly. Yes it's a bit of hyperbole. So what? It's magnitudes less hyberbolic than the same tired old phony claims our favorite purveyor of a popular but cr@p OS make with every release, and non-stop in between. It's nice to see something enthusiastic and positive.

*edit* I'm ready to start looking for a better KDE4 distro than Kubuntu, if OpenSUSE implements it better then good for them.

@caitlyn: "I bit my tongue and held back what I was originally going to post."

Really? Seriously. Over this simple opinion article? There lies the problem. I think most of us recognize that it was a "favorite distro" piece with a title not very well thought-out, but it is simply unwarranted to spew negative comments about it because you disagree with it's title. This kind of infighting and unjustified criticism of the work by others only serves to destroy any sense of a free, open community.

An opinion article can have merit and be worthy of posting even if you didn't write it.

HoTMetaL and dumper4311 like putting words in my mouth. Whoever HoTMetaL is seems to have a problem with me personally. There are lots of good opinion articles written by lots of people that are good. There are good opinion articles that offer opinions I don't agree with, too.

I didn't like this article because I don't like *any* fawning fan reviews that fail to look at both the positive and the negative (and both exist in any distro). I don't like commercials disguised as reviews. I don't like hype or hyperbole. It seems to me you two are getting far more worked up over my one paragraph comment than I ever did about the article. It seems like it's you two who have a problem with an opinion you disagree with, in this case mine, and are intolerant of anyone who sees things differently than you do.

Oh, and yes, I am really tired of the word "perfect" being thrown around with abandon by some Linux authors. If you have a problem with that, well, sorry, I'm not going to apologize for expressing my feelings honestly.

> Don't be pedantic.

I didn't think I was.

> In the author's opinion (as he states) it is the "perfect KDE Distribution".

Which is, pretty much by definition, "hype and hyperbole".

Look, if the author wants to wax bombastic about the virtues of a distribution, that's fine. Cheerleading has it's place. But it's also fine if someone points out that he's doing so.

I have a question: What is the perfect distribution for KDE desktop ?

It's probably Slackware: Super-conservative, patched forever ...

"Whoever HoTMetaL is seems to have a problem with me personally."

@caitlyn: HoTMetaL is a sysadmin working for an automotive supplier in Asheville, North Carolina. He doesn't have an issue with you personally. He has grown annoyed, however, with the persistent negativity both in your comments here, and in past comments and opinion articles you've authored. You obviously have a talent for effective writing, but I would like to see less mean-spiritedness and criticism in your work and more intelligent debate. Simply put: you pulled a 'Kanye West.'

@omlx: Hilarious. Even if you didn't intend it to be.

@Steven_Rosenberg: I agree with the Slackware suggestion!

> " . . . also fine if someone points out that he's doing so."

No argument there. Likewise, I have no problem with the author waxing bombastic (I really like that, by the way). My point is that caitlyn's overly-emotional and pretentious response was at least as damaging to the "community" as any atrocity committed by the author's choice of title. It's obvious her heels are dug in too far on this "issue" to recognize that simple fact, but I'm ok with that also, because it really isn't that big of an issue, except in her mind.

@caitlyn: "fawning fan reviews that fail to look at both the positive and the negative" ?? Did you even read his review? He actually does a reasonably good job at pointing out the things that don't work well for him yet. For a short opinion piece, I thought it came out fine, stupid title and all.

All this venom over such a simple thing, first towards the author and openSUSE, now at us? That's just not healthy. Anger management, sister. :)

I'm not angry so why would I need anger management? You two don't like my writing style, well... who is forcing you to read what I write? I can point to some very positive things I've written published oh... today, like my review of GSB 2.26.3 for DistroWatch (see: http://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20091026) which should be on LXer.com or my comments about Ken/Helios' latest article, which is nothing short of excellent.

However, while I compliment when I see something good I critique when I see something not so good. If you don't like it, well... fine, but don't expect that you can tell me what to write and not write. In not so polite English: tough sh**. Get over yourselves. HoTMetaL's insult ridden posts certainly aren't going to influence me, other than to give me a solidly negative opinion of the author.

I do harm to the community by pointing out hype and hyperbole? Pardon my French, but B.S.!

Oh, and I am still not angry. There was no venom in my original post. I looked at it again and I woudn't change a word of it. Take a look at your own posts and compare them to mine and show we which is venomous and which isn't.

@caitlyn:

dang. I'm sorry for getting you so wound up. I personally don't have any problem with your writing style, and certainly didn't mean to make you feel that you had to justify your accomplishments or capabilities to anyone.

Likewise, I was not by any stretch attempting to tell you what you can or can not write. I have to admit I'm a bit confused about how you can exhibit such profound authority issues towards me, when I've never claimed any such authority. I'm not even sure how we can have an intelligent conversation on this non-issue from such a perspective.

To swear at other posters repeatedly, and claim that your still not mad? That's either a confused or dishonest statement, I'm not sure which.

> "I'm not going to apologize for expressing my feelings honestly. "

Nobody's asked you to. You're obviously a very emotional person, and no doubt that strong emotional drive has served you well in many ways. I would ask that you consider that feeling is not the same as thinking.

Quoting:Asheville, North Carolina

Deleted. I confused Asheville and Asheboro.

This thread is going nowhere.

And it doesn't bother me at all that "perfect" is in the eye of the beholder. Preferences in Linux distributions have always been personal, after all. Back when I still used Debian (and loved it), I was surrounded by rabid Slackheads. Who cares? That's part of the fun.

The reviewer provided enough information to make me consider going back to Suse after some (not-quite) miserable months with Ubuntu. There is that KDE 4.x, thing -- but maybe I can get past that.

> ...I was surrounded by rabid Slackheads.

As if you're still not. :)

> And it doesn't bother me at all that "perfect" is in the eye of the beholder.

It doesn't bother me either, but there's still no sense on piling on someone who points out that the person is exaggerating. After all, it's not like it's Slackware or something. :)

> There is that KDE 4.x, thing -- but maybe I can get past that.

I haven't read the review myself, since I have no interest in SuSE, open or not. OK, a quick check reveals that it has KDE 4.3, so it'll probably be OK. KDE 4.2 was apparently what 4.0 should have been. I still have to upgrade my Slackware box to 13.0, which will let me test out KDE4.

KDE4 is already up to 4.3.2 in Slackware -current, if you're interested.

Side note: I just realized something. Once in a while, something goes "not quite right" in -current. That puts it about on par with every official Windows release I've seen.

Quoting:KDE 4.3 includes fixes for over 10,000 bugs and implements almost 2,000 new feature requests.

From personal experience, I can tell you KDE 4.3.2 apps work rather well (I don't use the Windows-manager though). Only OR kde4init OR xorg-1.6 crashes regularly (I suspect the latter). Problems with Akonadi / MySQL seems to be gone (for now).

Especially if you don't have to compile it yourself, I'd suggest you take a look at it (given you have a reversal-plan for if you don't like it).

And I even like Dolphin. Especially when you know all about how it works (I only know about 10% I guess). It can mount portable devices and you can remove from them / write files to them without manual mounting, editing autofs/udev-crud and being root. You can also split screens like with Krusader (but I'm not good at it), see previews etc.