On Sunday September 11 2005 8:39 am, Peter Flodin wrote:
The confusion will just get worse if we don't fix it now.
I have followed this thread with interest, and I think it has highlighted some very important points.
If the users on this list, some who I know have been active on this list for weeks, are confused about what openSUSE is, how is anybody else expected to understand?
The confusion is quite simple as we have received all of the following statements: 1. Novell wants to sell a product called SUSE Linux. No "Pro" or "Personal", just SUSE Linux. 2. SUSE Linux is a distribution created and maintained by the openSUSE project. 3. SUSE Linux OSS is an Open Source Software edition of SUSE Linux. To that list let me add:
4-Also, remember openSUSE isn't a "Novell product". It's a community Linux, that is supported by the Linux community. 5 There are two names and distro's : openSUSE and Novell SUSE. 6- That's right, openSUSE isn't a product at all, it's a development project that feeds into the product that is SUSE Linux. 7- openSUSE 10.0 is inexistent. It's SUSE Linux 10.0 OSS, which will very soon supersede the "stable release" SUSE Linux Professional 9.3.
What I don't understand is why SUSE Linux OSS is not just called openSUSE Linux, which means that in 6 months time we could have: SUSE Linux 10.0 in shops. openSUSE Linux 10.0 (stable) on mirrors to download openSUSE Linux 10.1 RC1 (development) on mirrors to download.
It has to be clear by using name only (not by reading a wiki - though I do love them) what the hell we are all doing here.
Peter "Pflodo" Flodin
I agree with you 100%. People shouldn't be expected to look elsewhere for an explanation of what the distro is or is not. And finally let me add if the OSS in SUSE 10.0-OSS stands for open source software, Does that mean that SUSE 10.0 is not open source? ?? It continues to be very confusing to me! Is SUSE Linux open source or is it not? I know that it includes some less than open source software but so do most other distros. So that is not my question. Rather it is: Is the basic distro, SUSE Linux, open source or is it not? If it is, then what does the OSS on SUSE Linux 10.0-OSS really mean?? All commercial distros with which I have any experience have a retail version and a download version (which is minus some proprietary stuff) of the same product. Isn't that what we have in SUSE Linux 10.0 and SUSE Linux 10.0-OSS. What is more open source about SUSE Linux 10.0-OSS than the soon to be released SUSE Linux 10.0, other than some omitted proprietary apps, drivers, etc? Again, thanks for your indulgence. -- LTR bulloved@nitline.com