Turning SLED10 Linux Into a Practical User Desktop

1. Open the Control Panel and remove totem and libxine via Software Uninstaller.

2. Open the Software Installer as root:

   # zen-installer

   (which opens the Desktop GUI as root), and open the configuration tab.

3. Change Security preferences to "checksum" (fill in the blank, not menu) in the preferences tab.

4. Exit the program. Exit the root terminal. Then reopen Software Installer from the main menu.

5. Install the iu-bremen packman repository into Software Installer as above. If Autodetect fails, try other pulldown menu options.

6. Turn off all other "channels" in the Catalog tab to see the iu-bremen repository packages.

7. Go to Main menu > Install Software. Install the packages in the following list. You can find the versions you need of these programs on the list that installs when Software Installer is clicked in the list of software available for installation (which will appear after you follow the above instructions):
   • libxine1 (686)
   • libxine1-aa (686)
   • xine-ui
   • libxine1-arts

   Fill in the root password when the prompt comes up. Wait a little while as the installer does its thing.

8. Turn the channels back on in the Preferences tab to restore normal operation.

9. Open xine and play video (or almost any other media content).

In the course of installation, I found w32codecs as a dependency and installed it, which saved me the trouble of looking for it. The license issue has to do with w32codecs, which contain proprietary codecs and are unavailable in the U.S.

As soon as it installed, I opened xine. It handled everything I threw at it, including avi, mov, mpg and wmv files.

Repository Configuration Problem

I tried adding the iu-bremen repository to make multimedia available, through Software Installer " configuration >add repository. But the prompt shown below informed me that security preferences for which programs the automated installer will install had to be changed to checksum or none for security. Try checksum; this verifies that the checksum cryptographically derived from the program matches the separate checksum listed in the file.

The following image shows the problem I had when I first tried following the steps described above from the desktop without using a terminal:

The repository setup UI is not especially well configured. The top circle-bar error message told me that to use that OpenSUSE repository, I had to change the security level preference. The bottom error message said that my attempt to access it failed. What should have happened is this: A root password prompt should have come up to ensure I had authority to make that change; then I should have gone to a screen giving me a checkbox or pulldown menu choice of the available security levels: none, checksum, or digital signature.

To set up a new repository in a GUI installer, you should not have to open a root terminal. Instead, after I found those prompts, I had to drag and drop Software installer onto the Desktop. Then I had to open Properties to find out the zen-installer program name, open a root terminal, open zen-installer from the root prompt, add the repository from within the GUI configuration, type in "checksum" for security preference into the text box, exit the program, close the terminal, and then reopen Software installer from the Main Menu. Whew!

Totem wouldn't play wmv files, but since xine works. I can't see any reason to try to fix this. What happened when I tried wmv is shown in this next screenshot:

For more detail, go to this SuSE Forum. But use the repository mentioned above, not the one the posters recommend.

Windows Emulation

Why run Windows on top of Linux? Here are four good reasons:

• The underlying Linux OS provides stability and Windows malware immunity.
• Direct access to Linux applications.
• Direct access to Windows applications without dual boot.
• The ability to replace Windows legacy apps with Linux apps for the road ahead one by one.

VMware: It works!

Win4Lin: Novell says it works with Win4Lin Pro. Since I don't recommend Win4Lin Pro, it's untested here. If you need Windows emulation and your CPU has hardware support for hardware virtualization (Intel, AMD, Pacifica) look at Xen emulation, or at VMware for earlier CPUs.

Xen: Not tested. Until my next upgrade, I won't have a CPU installed with hardware virtualization support. SLED10 is reported to run XP just fine in emulation. See screenshots and how-to link here. But getting it to work looks painful.

CONCLUSIONS

Once you get past the "enterprise-ready" and "Vista-killer" hype, SLED10 really isn't a bad distro. However, I found little a system builder could use to add $50 worth of value to a client's system. Even the slower upgrade cycle of an "enterprise" distribution might work against the home, SOHO or SMB user in this case. A faster upgrade could mean your problems will get fixed faster. The underlying SuSE free Open Source distro might be worth a look.

So what would SLED10 need to make it worth $50 to a systems builder? Here are my top suggestions:

• A less-buggy RPM installer.
• Licenses for proprietary codecs needed to run multimedia out of the box.
• Tech support via automated e-mail for at least 90 days after purchase.
• Turboprint driver licenses, so the distro could run many more printers. Or, at least, add more Linux print drivers to this version of CUPS.
• The ability to run more than just Cisco and Prism wireless out of the box.
• Cleaning up of the rough edges, such as the repository-setup problem described above.

Looking ahead, I expect SLED11 to provide more of the functionality needed in a Desktop-oriented Linux distribution. Here's hoping!

A. LIZARD is an Internet consultant in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has been writing for technology magazines and Web sites since 1987.