AMD Backs openSUSE with Huge New Infrastructure

apokryphos writes "AMD has helped sponsor the progress of openSUSE with leading-edge hardware and development expertise. "AMD is helping to ensure that the openSUSE Build Service continues to be an important collaboration and development platform for developers of all distributions," said Terri Hall, AMD vice president of Commercial Systems Marketing. Are these continued announcements of huge support from large OEMs an indication of a new era?"

Comments

microsoft connection?

[datapharmer]

I'm curious about this sudden SUSE push and the recent deals with Novell and Microsoft. I'm curious as to what is going on behind the scenes... is Microsoft working on a linux GUI? Something even more sinister? Or perhaps it is just a coincidence... but then again I don't believe in those.

Re:microsoft connection?

[swokm]

I think everyone has to admit that if Novell plays their cards right, they have a real shot at eventually winning a large portion of the enterprise desktop as well as the back end. IMHO. I like SUSE quite a bit, anyway. And I think AMD sees that a possible low-power platform win over Intel (those'll be harder and harder to come by).

As for MS... they think of Vista as their linux GUI, don't they? ;) If I had that much money, I'd invest in ever competitor too... you never know.

BTW, made account to thank the OP for not linking to their blog about a magazine blurb about TFA. That gets old fast.

--
datapharmer, tragically nice sig.

Re:microsoft connection?

[apokryphos]

The Microsoft deal on interoperability and customer patent protection is still ongoing but more in the background these days. The real "new push" is coming from Novell's relationship with IBM (and AMD, like this story; and I'm sure you know about Dell). For example IBM and Novell just launched a Big Green Linux Initiative, or how IBM, Novell Team to Tap Open Source App Servers, and the list goes on (see LWE announcements, or Google News). Novell is really trying to push Linux on the server -- and just as importantly -- the desktop into the Enterprise, and they're making major deals with large OEMs (that is, AMD, IBM/Lenovo, Dell) to make it happen.

Re:microsoft connection?

[mrsteveman1]

The installer and the Yast system were enough for me to stick with Opensuse, I have found both to be invaluable daily. I also like the fact that the X11 and curses versions of Yast are equivalent in functionality, since you can always configure the system easily over SSH or when X11 isn't even installed. In particular I like the partitioner (for its LVM and crypto features), the user, network services, and runlevel configuration panels.

In addition on my laptop with opensuse I was able to fix X11 from a graphical interface when the config file was actually deleted (Sax2), and setup the wlan card for a WPA2 wireless network in runlevel 3, all without editing config files.

I'm really hoping that more distros write systems like Yast or adopt it (its GPL).

To AMD:

[pajeromanco]

Save your hardware infrastructure and give me a god damn free driver.

Signed,

ATI user.

Re:To AMD:

[Zantetsuken]

No - I don't even care if its free (F/LOSS free). As long as it fucking works and gives me 3D hardware acceleration under Linux on my laptop, I'll be happy (Radeon xpress 200m)...

Re:To AMD:

[the_brobdingnagian]

I don't care about drivers from them. I want good and public documentation of the hardware.

Re:To AMD:

[BESTouff]

No - I don't even care if its free (F/LOSS free)

You already had your non-free driver, it's called frglx. It kind of worked for some cards, but exactely because it's NOT Free, it's never been improved to work on newer kernels, with newer Xorg techniques (compositing, randr, ttm, etc.), or with all kind of cards.

If one day ATI releases another version of their proprietary monster for the card of your choice, you'll have no warranty it'll work the year after. Just because you didn't care.

Re:To AMD:

[SunTzuWarmaster]

For those of us who have installed, uninstalled, updated, removed, forcibily found, hand-loaded, mod-probed, and editted the dreaded /etc/X11/xorg.conf file for:

it is called fglrx.

That's real nice...

[kilgortrout]

but if you really want to help give us some open source drivers for ati graphics cards or at least closed source ones that don't totally suck.

Leading Edge

[Iam9376]

AMD has helped sponsor the progress of openSUSE with leading-edge hardware and development expertise.

So they donated Intel processors?

Excellent Question!

[cyphercell]

I was just thinking the same thing, the past several days have been very dynamic in the way of licensing/FOSS in big business. We have sun, bittorrent, mysql, amd, proprietary AV systems, a DUI driver wins code, NewYorkCountryLawyer, Dell with on-board virtualization, openSuse, and well I'm sure I'm missing something somewhere because /. has had a good story every couple of hours for a few days now. It's almost scary. Ooh, Linux kernel developers coming under fire for not paying enough attention to the desktop, too. Anyone know how Vista is doing these days?

Re:How is the build service different from apt

[spyowl]

How is this different than apt-get, or even just using Google to search for packages?

You missed the part where it's a build service for developers. If you are a developer and have used or looked at their tools and interface, you'll find it will save you a lot of time, hassle and resources - write your software, upload it, and have it packaged and readily available for multiple distributions on multiple architectures. Your package has dependencies that have been updated by their developers? No problem, the service will automatically trigger to rebuild your package using the updated dependencies. Read more here.

Debian GNU/Linux

[wikinerd]

I would very much prefer them to support Debian rather than openSUSE.

Re:Debian GNU/Linux

[T-Ranger]

Novell hasn't had the greatest year. I guess if they sell of one of their two or three corporate jets, and Debian picks it up, then Debian may begin to impress the likes of AMD.

Re:it's MS Linux isn't it?

[houghi]

so SUSE takes a big share of the market, it's just ms windows box being swapped for a microsoft linux, or am I missing something with the ms-novell thing?

Yes, the fact that the MS-Novell deal was about SLES and interopreability, not about making RPM and DEB packages on a remote machine (because that is what the Build Service is in the end)

AMD doesn't care who owns linux, I guess they bet MS-Novell will sell lots of linux where everyone else failed

Sure AMD does not care. Perhaps they just use it, because for them processors are cheap and that is the cheapest way to get advertisement.

All packages are build on an olmost daily basis (e.g. for Factory, that resulted in the now out Beta 1 for openSUSE 10.3) and that needs a bit of power that Novell did not have.

Perhaps AMD will use it as a way to tell people: You want to switch to Linux? Well, we sponsor Novells Build Service, so we are the best choice.

It is strange to see that Linux is winning and everybody is scared of it. Why? Do you WANT it to be an OS for just geeks?

That's a problem with linux..

[brxndxn]

I would very much prefer them to support Debian rather than openSUSE.

Well I'd rather them support Ubuntu and my friend would rather Redhat. My dog likes Gentoo because he loves compiling.

Every time a company tries 'throwing a bone' to the open source community and chooses a system to support (which will inevitably filter to the other distros), the linux geeks go, "But wait.. I like this distro instead."

Just be happy; it's linux.

Re:openSuSE and the GPL ..

[krgallagher]

What's the whole point of openSUSE again. If the GPL is such an onerous license then why don't Novell strip all GPL licensed code from SUSE Linux, after all, what's only valuable is the kernel, right 'elsewhere' ...

You should have read the next paragraph:

The Software is a modular operating system. Most of the components are open source packages, developed independently, and accompanied by separate license terms. Your license rights with respect to individual components accompanied by separate license terms are defined by those terms; nothing in this Agreement (including, for example, the "Other License Terms and Restrictions," below) shall restrict, limit, or otherwise affect any rights or obligations You may have, or conditions to which You may be subject, under such license terms.

The paragraph you quoted only applies to any proprietary Novel code. Novel actually has a good record of releasing anything of value to the opensource community. This is however a beta not a release. Let's see what happens in the full release.

Re:SUSE

[apokryphos]

Yeah, sure, SUSE is a pseudo open-source project which an incredibly significant percentage of the open-source community is working on. Like who? Developers of probably 70% of the applications (and a higher percentage of software) that you regularly use. Like what, you say? Heard of KDE? Heard of GNOME? Heard of OpenOffice.org, the Linux kernel, GCC, ALSA, Compiz? Yes, it's often hard to not use them. :-)

The tagline of the story is perfectly applicable here: money-where-mouth-is. You really don't want SUSE in the OSS community? Put your money where your mouth is: start ripping out all the contributions that they put in. :)

Anyway, at least be sure that your hate is justified, which it most probably isn't.