OpenSUSE Tumbleweed does not boot to GUI after upgrade

OpenSUSE Tumbleweed kernel update as of 3/31/2016 does not boot to the UI anymore. This was observed on VirtualBox 5.0.16. Workaround is to pass iomem=relaxed to the kernel, see below for details.

1. Reboot the machine.
2. During the boot-up press e at the screen below.
   
3. Look for the line with linux and add iomem=relaxed
   

Reference:
https://forums.opensuse.org/showthread.php/514436-X-server-not-starting-after-update

Updating packages on OpenSUSE via console

Zypper is the functionally equivalent to apt-get or aptitude for OpenSUSE. Man page should give you more information how to use it, you can also visit http://en.opensuse.org/SDB:Zypper_usage_1 for additional information.

For example, to update your current system with the latest packages open konsole and do:

$: su
#: zypper refresh
#: zypper update

To install plain old rpm do:

$: su
#: zypper install google-chrome-stable_current_i386.rpm

This should install the downloaded stable version of Google Chrome. Of course you can substitute suitable rpm as necessary.

To search for a package like libpng, do:

$: zypper search libpng

~ts

The following add-ins could not be started MonoDevelop.GnomePlatform

Installing MonoDevelop in OpenSUSE 12.2 from its repository was very easy. When running it for the first time though I got the message:

The following add-ins could not be started:

The root of the trace shows

MonoDevelop.GnomePlatform,2.8

A quick search shows that MonoDevelop depends on libgnomeui. This should have been part of dependencies when installing the application but well....

Below is the screen shot of the error message.

References:
http://software.1713.n2.nabble.com/MonoDevelop-and-openSUSE-12-1-td7462957.html

[2013/04/09] - Same issue observed in OpenSUSE 12.3 and also the same fix.
[2014/11/02] - Same issue observed in OpenSUSE 13.3, mondevelop 3.0.6 and the same fix.

Force ntp sync on OpenSUSE

I am running openSUSE under VirtualBox to play around with the distribution. I am not really using it on a regular basis so it can be in the "Saved state" for several days.

I am also using the guest additions that comes with it and for some reason it is not syncing with the host automatically. Got no time to investigate today but I would like to sync the time so that I can check for updates.

As always in Linux land, there are thousand ways to do this and below is one quick way of doing it.

sudo /etc/init.d/ntp restart

Of course you have to do this at the command line.

Reference(s):
http://www.krazyworks.com/force-ntp-time-update-on-linux/

Have fun!!!

Technos

openSUSE 11.4 KDE installation screen capture tour

I just got the time to play around openSUSE 11.4 which was released last March 10, 2011. From the outside, nothing much changed between 11.3 and 11.4 especially in the installation department (seems like they are exactly the same except for the new artwork/background). Why change if it is working?

Without too much ado... here comes the screen grabs.

Additional information:
kernel: 2.6.37
KDE: 4.6.00 (4.6.0) "release 6"
X org: 1.9.3

Have fun!!!

~ts

Update OpenSUSE 11.4 with good looking fonts

Font smoothing and subpixel rendering is not configured/enabled by default in OpenSUSE 11.4. It seems like there are patents (see link) around subpixel rendering that prevents FOSS distros from enabling this be default.

For smallish installation (home use or experimentation) this might not be too much of a deal but of course who really knows that the patent owner will do to enforce it. So if you are not comfortable doing this, please stop.

First, need to download subpixel package by muzlocker. This can be done in a console.

sudo zypper addrepo http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/muzlocker/openSUSE_11.4/ subpixel
sudo zypper ref
sudo zypper dup

Next, create .Xdefaults, from a console do:

cd ~
touch .Xdefaults
kwrite .Xdefaults

Then copy the following:

Xft.autohint: 0
Xft.lcdfilter: lcddefault
Xft.hintstyle: hintslight
Xft.hinting: 1
Xft.antialias: 1
Xft.dpi: 96
Xft.rgba: rgb 

Next up, create .fonts.conf file, can be created in console, like:

cd ~
touch .fonts.conf
kwrite .fonts.conf

Then copy/paste the following:

  
    
      rgb
    
  
  
    
      true
    
  
  
    
      hintslight
    
  
  
    
      true
    
  

To ensure that changes take effect, logout then log back in. If not working, reboot.

Enjoy!

References:
subpixel packages by MuZlockER

Keywords:
OpenSUSE, font smoothing, subpixel rendering

~ts