Impact of OpenSUSE 12.1 on Tumbleweed

My major motivation for trying Tumbleweed was to have an Arch Linux like distribution but with delta packages. Although delta rpms were only available for the packages in the 11.4 repository and not in the Tumbleweed repository, I continued to be interested in seeing how the 'rolling' model will evolve along with the other distributions of OpenSUSE.

The release of 12.1 distribution had a larger impact on Tumbleweed than I had expected. It was literally a distribution upgrade, no different from 11.4 to 12.1. Tumbleweed repository was emptied and based on 12.1 repository. All packages were upgraded. I had hoped that the Tumbleweed distribution to be very close to the 12.1 and the upgrade should have been minimal even though I had wondered how they will manage versions across repositories.

In the current upgrade, I had to change the repository to point to the current repository instead of 11.4. The current repository is now a symbolic repository so in future no change in the repository information will be needed. However, at least at present, Tumbleweed does not really appear to be a rolling distribution. It is more like the base with some updates, so, not particularly interesting. It is better to use Ubuntu with ppa's.

I will keep watching and may be Tumbleweed will evolve into an interesting alternative. At present, I continue to stick to Fedora and Arch Linux at home and Ubuntu at work.

Another case for Rolling distribution

While it is nice to read a news item like  "Asus will preload Ubuntu Linux on three Eee PCs", statements like the following cause a discordant note:

"The only question left is Asus' decision to ship Ubuntu 10.10 although Ubuntu 11.04 came out back in April."

In the case of open source, the users get to try the software before the vendors get around to it. Hence, rolling distributions are ideal. The vendor-supported OS will not be obsolete from the perspective advanced users and, worse, trade press, which will influence the non-tech consumers.

I wish some vendor would latch on to Arch Linux :)

Tumbleweed and Other Repositories on OpenSUSE

From the OpenSUSE forum posts, it was apparent that I was not the only one confused by which repositories to use and the implication of using multiple repositories.

OpenSUSE does not allow an update from a repository if the package ownership changes. This is a mixed blessing. It appears to be useful if one is using packman repository in addition to the OpenSUSE's OSS, nonOSS and contrib repositories and some packages overlap. However, it also meant that I could not update the additional packages added to Tumbleweed repository. (I may be able to overcome that problem using the instructions in http://en.opensuse.org/SDB:Vendor_change_update.)

I needed to use the following command again.
$ sudo zypper dup --from Tumbleweed

So far, I have not come across delta rpm packages in Tumbleweed repository. I am hoping, once the packages are updated within Tumbleweed, delta rpms will also be available.

I expect that after some time, the 11.4 specific repositories will become redundant.

Currently, it would be easier to stick to Arch Linux! But there would also be less to learn :)

OpenSUSE Tumbleweed

I installed the live KDE version of OpenSUSE 11.4 and then added the Tumbleweed repository as documented here on a Lenovo S10-3 netbook. The installation and updates were pretty straightforward. It updated to 2.6.38 kernel. However, the wi-fi was not connecting. I tried to install the broadcom-wl driver and there wasn't one for 2.6.38. I built the non-free driver for 2.6.38 and installed it. It still did not work. Since I could not understand the cause or diagnose it, I removed the hidden network option on the router. The wireless connection worked!

The next step was to realise that there was an open source broadcom driver brcm80211 included in 2.6.38 kernel and the wl driver wasn't needed. The wifi network worked well with the open source driver. I made the network hidden on the router and the network still worked! I am not sure if this workaround is needed every time a new wifi connection is needed - something to be verified.

My preference is for a rolling distribution which distributes delta packages. I still like Arch Linux and the ease with which I could hold back X11 server to an older version for Intel 845/945 graphics cards. It has been successful in demonstrating the power and feasibility of a rolling distribution model. It is great to see OpenSUSE adapt it and OpenSUSE were, probably, the first to offer delta packages. So, I plan to stick to Tumbleweed on the Lenovo Netbook with the KDE Plasma Netbook interface.

I will continue to keep Arch Linux on my mother's computer which has Intel 945 graphics.

My concern is that since OpenSUSE is continuing to work on discrete distributions as well, they may be complicating their environment. I hope they do not drop Tumbleweed in the process.

Demise of ArchDelta?

I have been regularly using the archdelta repository to keep my system current. A couple of months ago, the repository stopped providing updates. The arch linux discussion forum provided the answer. Sabooky was no longer using delta packages and had stopped maintaining the site.

It is disappointing as I had hoped that the experiment would become a part of the core repositories as in the case of Fedora and Suse.

This, though, provides the incentive and motivation for trying out openSUSE's Tumbleweed rolling distribution. I tried updating the Smeegol installation using the Portal:Tumbleweed advice. However, the Smeegol desktop does not appear to be a part of the Tumbleweed environment. So, only the kernel and a few packages were replaced by the higher versions.

I will start with a 11.4 livecd and then add the Tumbleweed repositories and see how it works out.

Rolling Distributions

It appears that Suse will have an option of a rolling distribution even if Ubuntu is not yet introducing a rolling distributions. For several years I have felt that this is inevitable (I still agree with the ideas in that article but wish I could have expressed them better).

A feature I miss in Arch Linux is the option to easily and quickly rollback the last set of updates in case some application or system malfunctions.

Mint introduces a rolling option!

I haven't tried Mint. But it was a pleasant surprise to read that Mint will have a rolling distribution based on Debian testing repository. I have been convinced for some time that we should not have to change our OS - ever(at least for a long-long time). I was reminded of it by a blog entry about Windows vs Ubuntu release cycle.

I have been very happy with Arch Linux since Jan 2010. I haven't switched all my home systems because the range of applications available in Fedora repositories is considerably greater. I suppose I could use the rawhide repositories and that would be like a rolling distribution. However, the risk of the system breaking with that option is likely to be very high.

I am planning to use Arch Linux as the primary version on Lenovo S10-3 netbook using KDE's netbook style as the needs are well defined. The initial setup effort is worth the smoother subsequent operation.

I am not opting for Arch Linux because it is 'faster'. I do not know if that is even correct.

Nor am I doing so to have a fine control over the packages installed.

I am opting for it to so that I do not have to decide when to upgrade!