openSUSE introduces openSUSE Slowroll
-
openSUSE has introduced a new distro called Slowroll, based on Tumbleweed. The intent is to have updates every one or two months with bug fixes, but it will receive CVE fixes as they are available.
It's in-between Tumbleweed and Leap.
The install media from the openSUSE web site, is for Tumbleweed and is not a live DVD. It successfully installed to an external USB SSD, from a flash drive.
Upon the first boot, I switched it to Slowroll, by disabling the Tumbleweed repositories and manually added three Slowroll repos listed on https://en.opensuse.org/openSUSE:Slowroll which are currently under Experimental (update, oss and non-oss). There were around 33 updates. And of course, I also added the Vivaldi repo.
openSUSE recently did a survey and Slowroll came out on top for Community's Vision for openSUSE. https://news.opensuse.org/2023/09/05/survey-reveals-community-preferences/
Phoronix article: https://www.phoronix.com/news/openSUSE-Slowroll
Given what was needed to be done to switch it from Tumbleweed to Slowroll, I can comfortably say that, in my opinion, at least for now, this is not for the Linux beginner.
I will be testing it to see how it performs.
Vivaldi on Linux:
openSUSE Tumbleweed and Slowroll (Xfce 4.20)
Fedora 42 and Rawhide (Xfce 4.20)Android (10)
Vivaldi user since 2016. Thank you to all Vivaldi users.
-
@edwardp
Thank you for your detailed description. -
@ingolftopf It wasn't without a little bit of trouble.
The command zypper dup (in a terminal) must be run to upgrade Tumbleweed, as well as Slowroll and I was using YaST instead.
Once I used zypper dup to 'downgrade' Tumbleweed to Slowroll, a package or packages caused the Vivaldi user interface to display blank afterwards. No text, no fonts, nothing. Just a title bar with a white screen.
I then removed the Slowroll repositories using YaST, added the Tumbleweed repositories back in, then ran zypper dup to upgrade it back to Tumbleweed. Upon a reboot, Vivaldi's user inteface was restored.
So I have decided to keep the SSD on Tumbleweed and use zypper dup to upgrade it.
-
@edwardp said in openSUSE releases openSUSE Slowroll:
manually added three Slowroll repos listed ... And of course, I also added the Vivaldi repo.
what about the
packmanrepo too? is that compatible with slowroll? i wonder if slowroll will torment users with the same dependency hell as tumbleweed?@edwardp said in openSUSE releases openSUSE Slowroll:
Tumbleweed and use zypper dup to upgrade
tw has needed
sudo zypper dupfor many years. only leap should usesudo zypper up. earlier, you said...@edwardp said in openSUSE releases openSUSE Slowroll:
zypper dup (in a terminal) must be run to upgrade Tumbleweed, as well as Slowroll
...so as long as you do your updates exclusively in terminal & ignore
YaST, isn't it safe to now re-disable the tw repos, re-add the sr ones, then happily update sr each time in terminal? am asking coz i'm confused why you seem to have given up on sr:@edwardp said in openSUSE releases openSUSE Slowroll:
I have decided to keep the SSD on Tumbleweed and use zypper dup to upgrade it
but maybe i have misunderstood.
if i ever seriously contemplated returning to os tw [which is hugely implausible, given archlinux & fedora], to avoid dependency hell i think i'd never ever use any 3rd party repos again, stick only to the three tw defaults, & install any non-repo apps via flatpaks, including v snappie. oh, no, wait...
-
@ybjrepnfr The Packman repo is listed on the above openSUSE Slowroll page, so I guess it is compatible with it.
As for zypper dup, the very first Linux distribution I used, was SUSE Linux Personal 8.2 and used YaST back then to upgrade it, so I was accustomed to using YaST and did not initially realize zypper dup was to be used to upgrade Tumbleweed. My bad, missed that. Now I know.
zypper dup must be used to upgrade Tumbleweed and Slowroll.
I'm afraid if I downgrade it back to Slowroll, I'll lose the Vivaldi user interface again. That's why I decided to keep Tumbleweed installed on the SSD.
When I previously tried Tumbleweed, I had used YaST and there were dependency issues in upgrading Tumbleweed. zypper dup eliminates this problem, as it keeps the Tumbleweed install at the exact same base as the current Tumbleweed snapshot, when upgrading.
-
It's a bad, desperate (because of the chronic lack of commitment from the openSUSE community for Leap) & futile (has no future -no real benefit-) attempt to not let Leap die, they should just let it RIP* and concentrate on improving Tumbleweed, aka more packages thrown into Factory than getting them from OBS and Packman as both are notorious for wrecking the OS, or improving zypper (parallel downloads), or improving KDE's state in Tumbleweed which will benefit Kalpa (what a terrible name compared to Aeon).
*Wasn't SUSE supposed to fork RHEL? There's your "Leap".
-
-
openSUSE has since changed the Slowroll web page (above) to advise not enabling the Tumbleweed repositories during the initial install, so it doesn't pull in the newer Tumbleweed packages. This was the issue I had.
-
If you are using openSUSE Slowroll, please be advised that the repositories have changed.
https://forums.opensuse.org/t/slowroll-users-the-repo-used-have-changed-today/170533
Mailing list announcenent: https://lists.opensuse.org/archives/list/[email protected]/thread/CLFBI65YXUJI33L574HJCTETJQ35NJ5C/
-
@npro i just re-read your remarks now. really, imo, these are very insightful & apt [/zypper, teehee].
-
@edwardp Are you still using Slowroll? How has the experience been?
When they announced it i got really curious since i thought the slower pace maybe could provide a more stable base for us that really don´t need the full throttle rolling model that TW offers but still would like to stay updated.
-
@pjol I am still using it, but now with the Long-Term Support (LTS) kernel, via the
kernel-longtermpackage. It is still an experimental distribution.It continues to run well from an external USB SSD, major updates every month or so, with new kernels and security/bug fixes in-between. This is on a 13-year old BIOS desktop.
-
@edwardp That pace of updates sounds quite enticing. Also the upside with it being rolling is never having to think about upgrades as such that point releases offer.
Will be keeping a eye on slowroll and how it progresses. I appreciate you sharing your experience!
-
openSUSE has now released a Slowroll DVD ISO image for installation, which can be obtained via the openSUSE Slowroll Wiki page.
The new Slowroll logo, from the 2023 logo contest, is now in three packages and is included on the default openSUSE Slowroll desktop wallpaper. I now use the new Slowroll logo as the icon for the KDE Application Launcher in the KDE panel.
Slowroll is still an experimental distribution from openSUSE, based on Tumbleweed, but rolling slower. Big updates once per month, with bug and security fixes as they come in.
-
openSUSE Slowroll has now reached Beta status.
* 