On Sun, 11 Sep 2005, Langsley wrote:
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?
Peter, I have to admit that we did a poor job in communicating the naming - but I guess that's changing now ;)
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.
Correction: There are three names and two distros: openSUSE (the project) SUSE Linux OSS (the distro that only contains open source software) and SUSE Linux (available in retail, a superset of SUSE Linux OSS, includes printed manuals, installation support and some commercial addons). Oh, and I almost forgot Novell: That's the company that acquired SUSE some time ago and is sponsoring the openSUSE project ;)
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.
Sorry for nit-picking: It's SUSE Linux OSS 10.0 - the retail version will be called SUSE Linux 10.0.
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.
I recall having had very lively discussion on the naming earlier this year. However, this thread proofs that we will have to go over this again... ;) But for now (for the 10.0 release) we'll have to stick with the current naming. Regards Christoph