SuSE Linux 9.1 Review - Configuration
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Continuing to be different, YaST2 doesn't look like the Mandrake Control Center or the Windows XP Control Panel. It uses a simple menu system where you choose a broad category on the left, a specific one on the right, and then another window pops up to make the necessary changes. Like the other control panel-type software, the changes you make take effect immediately.
SuSE 9.1 did a good job of detecting my hardware. It did make a mistake by saying that the onboard gigabit ethernet card is a Galileo card, when it is made by Marvell. Two devices, a Linksys WMP11 ver. 2.7 and a Logitech QuickCam Pro 4000, were not detected, but that is due to the lack of available drivers. SuSE 9.1 is the only distribution I have used that properly detected the Linuxant DriverLoader driver as a wireless driver, saving me from having to manually edit configuration files by hand. After installing DriverLoader 2.04, YaST2 detected the driver as a wireless one, and after a reboot, I was able to use the wireless card successfully.
Installing packages brings you to the same window that resembles the one seen in the installer. Again, the auto-dependency check is turned off. The design is consistent –- high-level headings on the left, specific packages on the right.
SaX2, the graphics subsystem configuration program, is a dream. It properly detected my ASUS Radeon 9600XT, and provided drivers for it. I believe that there are licensing issues with distributing 3D accelerated drivers from nVidia or ATi, but the 2D drivers will do for most functions. If you are planning on playing games, its recommended that you download the drivers from your graphics chipset maker and installing them. SaX2 also has a built-in 30 second timeout when testing new display settings. This is a good idea –- normally, when Xfree86 settings get tweaked badly, you're hosed.
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