newbie needs download/yast/install help

[omcintyre]

Yesterday I got my Lenovo Ideapad S9e with SLED 10 sp2. So, I've been using Linux for about...18 hours!

It came preloaded with all the software I need EXCEPT for games -- no games at all that I can find. I've tried to download Pysol or Ultrasol or Gnome Games, but I can't figure out how to install them. It seems that I use Yast2, but how?

Can someone give me a step-by-step to download and install Gnome Games or one of the others?

(Background: I'm a long-time PC user: DOS '83-'93, then Windows. I want to learn Linux, I just don't know how to start.)

[HROAdmin26]

A) You have SLED installed - that stands for Suse Linux *Enterprise* Desktop. Understand that in the Linux world, *enterprise* means just that. The OS is built with business in mind, not gaming. So you may find that some graphic, sound, and various other libraries are not installed.

B) Google is your friend.

YaST

YaST Software Management

When you read that, you will see that YaST queries and installs from *repositories.* Given that this is SLED (see above), you may not find too many games in said repositories. You can add other repositories (if available) or use manual install methods.

[omcintyre]

Thanks for the quick reply. I am now thoroughly frustrated. I've spent most of the day googling and trying things. I actually found the "repository" for Gnome Games, figured out how to get YAST2 to recognize it as a "URL" source, but when I tried to install I got a bunch of messages about "dependency conflicts".

I'm noticing that my copy of SLED uses slightly different terminology from what I'm finding on the web (for example, the repositories are called "catalogs."

So each "distribution" of Linux may or may not be compatible with others?

I think I'm about to acknowledge defeat and slink back to MS.

[HROAdmin26]

If you had some expectation of "walking" into another OS without any learning, I can only point you to Linux is not Windows.

but when I tried to install I got a bunch of messages about "dependency conflicts"

The OS is built with business in mind, not gaming. So you may find that some graphic, sound, and various other libraries are not installed.

You are taking a desktop built for enterprise use and trying to install games. I would not (personally) recommend that direction unless you have experience with Linux. SLED is a slightly older release and again, was never meant for games.

So each "distribution" of Linux may or may not be compatible with others?

Installing from repositories means that pre-compiled code *specifically for your Linux distro/version* is being installed. You are (likely) installing from openSuSE repos that *don't* exactly match your *enterprise* SLED OS.

When there is not a pre-compiled version of software, the Linux way is to download the source and any needed libraries and compile it manually. For new users, repos are the way to go.

You can just as easily install openSuSE 11.1 on your laptop but expect to spend some time getting familiar with it.

[reed9]

It's true that each distro packages their software differently, and they are not necessarily compatible with each other.

I think the bigger problem in this case is that SLED is not a general purpose desktop distribution. It's an enterprise desktop solution. Not to mention SLED 10 is pretty old. Enterprise distros are always conservative with software changes, because they need to be rock stable and reliable in mission critical situations, and you get a double dose of outdated software when you're using an old release of an Enterprise desktop.

I really recommend going with a newer, more user friendly distribution. (Also, distros like Ubuntu will have thousands more programs in their repositories than SLED does.)

The good thing is that since this laptop came with linux on it, you can be pretty sure you won't run into compatibility issues. (One caveat, I believe these laptops often have a broadcom wireless card, which may not work out of the box in most distros. It's fairly easy to get it working if you have access to a wired connection for a brief period, though.)

[omcintyre]

Thanks for the answers...I'm just frustrated.

It just never occurred to me that a NETBOOK would come with a "business" operating system. True, they didn't say what kind of Linux it had --- I was assuming that it would be something like Ubuntu. I guess I should have known better since it was coming from Lenovo.

I'm not a huge gamer -- but I do want my solitaire to be on my netbook.

How hard is it to switch to OpenSuse?

Thanks for your kindness to a newbie!

[reed9]

You're absolutely right - you as the end user shouldn't have had to worry about this. Basic tasks like installing solitaire should be a simple transparent process, and included in the documentation for the system should be a clear explanation of how to go about it. I'm very frustrated with the netbook manufacturers, and, in cases like this, I suppose Novell, who must have some agreement with them to be installing their enterprise desktop on the netbooks. For netbooks like the eee pc and aspire one, xandros and linpus lite just seem like crappy distros. Suse is fine, but probably not best for the average user. (Well, personally I've never cared for opensuse, but a lot of people seem to like it.)

I'm not familiar with the Ideapad S9e. You could go the opensuse route, but if it's basically like the other netbooks out there, especially if it has a flash drive instead of a regular hard drive, I would suggest a netbook oriented distro like Easy Peasy. If you don't have an internal or external CD drive, you'll need to install to a flash drive and boot from that. (I assume this is a fairly modern computer and can boot from a USB drive.)

The easiest way to create a USB install is to use unetbootin

The default behavior for file systems in linux can reduce the life span of a flash drive significantly due to excessive writes to the drive. So you need to tweak the behavior a little bit. I'm not 100% sure, since I don't have a netbook and never used Easy Peasy, but my understanding is that its default behavior should be optimized for flash drives. Perhaps someone else can confirm that.

[HROAdmin26]

I am suprised too at the choice of SLED for a "Netbook" system, but I also have a low opinion of Lenovo so I am not too surprised.

I found this link with stats about the Ideapad S9E.

Given the Atom CPU, 1GB RAM, and 8.9" screen, a distro optimized for NetBooks is the way to go - especially for new users. It notes a 160GB HDD, so it is not an SSD. The great thing about Linux is that there is *never* a lack of choices for distro's.

You may want to look into Ubuntu's "Remix" version tweaked for netbooks.

Basic tasks like installing solitaire should be a simple transparent process, and included in the documentation for the system should be a clear explanation of how to go about it.

As an OEM product that the vendor has to support, they would prefer that users *not* install extra software. The smaller HDD's on these systems, smaller screens, and slower CPU's don't lend themselves well to extensive expansion that then breaks/reduces the machine's effectiveness...which then leads to more support calls. They hope that normal users will find everything they need with the installed software and that only power users (who don't need to call support) will use the system differently.

[omcintyre]

Actually, mine has a 4GB flash drive -- it was a super bargain at tigerdirect.....and I'm thinking about sending it right back to them.....

Good info about EasyPeasy, though, I'll take a look at it.