install SMART package manager on openSUSE 10.3

Are you – like me – feeling uncomfortable with the new dumb interface of the YaST module devoted to the package management ?

Well, relax … you still can install the Smart Package Manager quick and easy ! Just open a shell with administrative rights and do:

zypper sa -r http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/smart/openSUSE_10.3/smart.repo
zypper ref smart
zypper install smart

Then you have to add some repository to it, and for this we will use the Pascal’s pre-made file linked inside the example (you can create a personal config file following that syntax, if you want/need):

smart channel --add http://linux01.gwdg.de/~pbleser/files/smart/opensuse-10.3.txt
smart mirror --add http://linux01.gwdg.de/~pbleser/files/smart/mirrors-eu.txt
smart update

Remember …. the guru’s repository is slowly merging into Packman!

References: the SMART project’s homepage, and obviously the Pascal’s post which I’ve copied

openSUSE

openSUSE 10.3, downloads and first screenshots

The new release of openSUSE, the 10.3, is here.

I’ve just finished the download and I’m proceeding with the DVD burning … and then I’ll keep you informed on how it behaves on my Acer laptop.

If you like you can see some screenshots here and on the official announcement page.

openSUSE

help openSUSE’s YaST to improve

I’ve recently learned about the survey started from openSUSE guys regarding the desiderata of their community based on the most prominent feature of the distro.

I’ve talked about YaST many times in the past, so check that out and take the survey !

This survey is about YaST, the default installation and administration tool for all openSUSE/SUSE Linux products.

If you use openSUSE/SUSE Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop or SUSE Linux Enterprise Server through your participation in our survey you support us improving YaST. If you don’t use any of the named openSUSE/SUSE Linux products at all please exit the survey.

The survey will be online until mid November and the results will be published on openSUSE.org.

openSUSE

openSUSE news

Did you see the new community project by the openSUSE team ?

A couple of days ago the openSUSE news has born to provide the latest openSUSE news to a wider audience mirroring the project’s most important announcements from the opensuse-announce mailing list, but opening them to the comment’s of people interested in them!

Happy reading.

opensuse

YaSTRS – YaST Repositories Script generator

Have you already heard of YaSTRS ?

YaSTRS is a simple tool that easily allows picking YaST repositories and generates a shell script to add them on your local machine. It tries to be the same as easyurpmi for SUSE. In order to provide high quality database all mirrors are automatically validated on a regular basis.

As you can see in the about description it’s main goal is to be an equivalent of the optimal EasyURPMI site for a quick, easy installation and configuration of software repositories in your GNU/Linux distribution.

If you’ve ever had the chance to play with the openSUSE repositories, then you’ve become aware of the difficulty of choosing the appropriate and quickest ones.

Now with YaSTRS also openSUSE have a script aiming at helping the newcomer and expert user alike in this tedious configuration work, including the community suppoerted repos, as well as the “non official ones” ( who said Packman, Guru e suser-jengelh ??).

Remember YaSTRS is currently a beta version, so bug reports are welcomed here.

opensuse

precocious blogging ?

As you can see in the sidebar seems that my current “top post” is the one done last 21st of september regarding the first screenshot of the (then) forthcoming openSUSE 10.2

Since openSUSE 10.2 release date the post has attracted a lot of visitors resulting in a glorious boom of hits.

I take it as a good signal of community interest around the distribution and over the bad commentary that have taken place around various news coming from the Novell stanzas.

In the image below i have reported how the post has performed since it’s publication to this last morning (here in Italy):

(I take the occasion to remember that on this blog you have just to click on an image to see it at full size and that the image above was taken thanks to the new post statistics on WordPress.com).

technorati tags:opensuse, wordpress, statistics

Blogged with Flock

running openSUSE 10.2

In the last four days i had a discrete amount of access to this blog from people searching for images of the new openSUSE release.

Well, to summon things up let me introduce you to the costantly useful work of Vichar on the promotion of openSUSE stuff. In this last week he has pointed us to:

- a self made video tutorial on installation,

- must have/read documentation,

- funny comments on how the project is managed,

- a well written and argumented review.

So if you’re into openSUSE, or plan to be in it, or simply looking for fresh news on Linux bookmark Vichar or subscribe his RSS feed.

openSUSE 10.2 available, but hush !

Thanks to an italian forum fellow on SUSEitalia.org I’ve acknoledged the fact that the Korean mirror of the openSUSE project has got freely accessible to the external world the torrent file for downlading the installation ISOs of the openSUSE 10.2 which is slated to be announced later today.

Andreas Jaeger, leader of the project, just few days ago announced the arrival to the Gold Master status of the distro, so while we all wait for the final, official, announcement let’s start the download.

openSUSE project’s sports a new look

Today i’ve pointed my broser to the openSUSE project’s site to see if there were some updates on the release scheduleof the 10.2 release and some citation of the “hystorical” agreement between Novell and Microsoft.

What i did find was a restyled home page (in the image above, clearly) which welcomes the navigants. I do like how it looks like. Interesting (what’s that spiral ?) clear (welcome say in my language) and a first level search engine at the bottom for a quick jump navigation.

Also the internal pages have changed quite a bit since my last visit some months ago and I like the rationalization process in act.

Kudos people ! ….. now, my dear reader what is your opinion on it ?

technorati tags:openSUSE, wiki, restyling

Blogged with Flock

openSUSE 10.1 (finally) remastered

Maybe a lit late i’d like to put in evidence the fact that openSUSE development team has finally released and spread all over their FTP mirrors the new, corrected ISO’s of the latest stable openSUSE Linux distribution, numbered 10.1.

Many openSUSE users had found enormous problems getting to work “right” their distro when using the new package manager and updater which was introduced in this relase for the first time. Now those problems will become a memory to whom approach the distro, let’s hear Andreas Jaeger voice:

I’m happy to announce the availability of SUSE Linux 10.1 “remastered”.
This release combines the 10.1 GM and all online updates that we have released for 10.1 so far, including libzypp, which should make the installing and working experience much smoother for everyone.

So point out your browser to the release page to download your copy (preferably via bittorrent technology!)