openSuSE on a netbook

[AdvMutant]

Hey folks. As I said in my first thread, I just switched to Linux. My problem is that I just can't decide which one. I have tried Linux Mint and Kubuntu, both feel kinda messy, and I'm not really comfortable with them. I just burned the openSuSE DVD and gonna try it out right now.

Well, the thing is that maybe my parents will get me a Netbook to Xmas(lol cause I'm a very talented programmer, I spend most of my day on my computer and cause I asked nicely XD), and I'm planning to get Asus Eee PC 10.1" 1001PX, 1015P or 1015PED SeaShell, depending on what will my parents allow me and what's on the store. I know it sounds dumb, but I'm gonna use my Netbook mainly for programming. What I do like about them is that they're cheap, light, and portable - making them great for reading eBooks. On the other hand, their keyboard isn't very comfortable, and their screen is small.(Those don't really bother me)

Anyways, will openSuSE be good for a Netbook? Will it be good for programming? Otherwise, what distro is better for me?

Thanks in advance to anyone who helps, Mike.

[oz]

Anyways, will openSuSE be good for a Netbook? Will it be good for programming? Otherwise, what distro is better for me?

Welcome to the forums!

OpenSuse is considered a very good option for those notebooks that have the hardware requirements to handle it. You can program in any Linux by adding any additional programming tools that you need.

[AdvMutant]

Thanks. I have just finished the installation, and openSuSE works a lot better than Kubuntu on my PC. I think I'm gonna stick with it, especially because it reminds me of good 'ol XP that I just can't stop thinking of... What a great OS!

[oz]

Glad to hear it's working out for you!

Just curious... are you running KDE4 or Gnome on it? I've not tried KDE4 on OpenSuse but have heard that the OpenSuse devs really do a great job of making KDE4 work well with their distribution.

[AdvMutant]

I was just about to post a thread about it - I chose KDE during the install(so I'm running KDE4), but I have no opinion about it as I haven't ever tried Gnome. Is there a way I can switch between them after install?
And, just in case I will like it, how can I set it as the default desktop environment?

PS. My English knowlage isn't all that great, I tend to write words with typos. How do I enable that automatic spelling check at FireFox, like on Kubuntu and XP?

Thanks XD

[oz]

I was just about to post a thread about it - I chose KDE during the install(so I'm running KDE4), but I have no opinion about it as I haven't ever tried Gnome. Is there a way I can switch between them after install?
And, just in case I will like it, how can I set it as the default desktop environment?

PS. My English knowlage isn't all that great, I tend to write words with typos. How do I enable that automatic spelling check at FireFox, like on Kubuntu and XP?

Yes, you can switch back and forth between them if you installed both, but I'm not personally a fan of mixing Gnome and KDE on the same install because of weird issues that crop up now and then after doing so. Others do it all the time and say they've had no problems with it, but I can only go by my own experiences.

You have to install a spellchecker for the language that you use in Firefox and then set it in your preferences. You can look for spellcheckers here:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/

That's a US webpage, so you might want an Israel webpage if there is one.

[sgosnell]

I tried OpenSUSE some time back, when I was testing distros, and it ran OK on my Asus eee-900. I eventually settled on Ubuntu, but that's a decision based on personal preference. Every distro I tried, including Fedora and a few others, worked, it was just a matter of what I was used to and liked. Ubuntu is probably more attuned to netbooks, with a special netbook edition, but I don't like that interface. I prefer standard gnome. You can install both KDE and gnome, and decide at boot time which to load, regardless of which distro you use. I used an SDHC card for testing distros, waiting until I decided before installing on my internal drive. SDHC is a good way to test distros without touching your internal drive.

[AdvMutant]

Thanks for all your replies!
lol booting with a SDHC is a great idea...
I installed Gnome with no problems now, and it works just great now. I also enabled the spelling checker. Now, one last question - why does my system show up the login screen system when I click Computer>Shutdown>Restart/Shut Down?