Woensdag is versie 12.2 van openSUSE uitgekomen. Deze Linux-distributie heeft Novell als sponsor en normaal gesproken komt er elke acht maanden een nieuwe versie uit. Deze keer zijn echter twee maanden extra uitgetrokken om hem extra stabiel te krijgen. YaST2 is het hart van openSUSE en dit verzorgt alles vanaf het aanmaken van partities, het installeren van het besturingssysteem en de configuratie tot administratie en updates via rpm-packages. De belangrijkste verbeteringen in deze release kunnen hieronder worden gevonden.
Performance
From the kernel to the desktop, openSUSE 12.2 brings you speed-ups: Linux 3.4 has a faster storage layer to prevent blocking during large transfers. glibc 2.15, the basic library, improves the performance of many functions especially on 64 bit systems. Systemd 44 enables faster booting. And KDE 4.8.4 builds on Qt 4.8.1 to make the desktop more responsive.
Evolution
openSUSE adopts the latest developments in Linux distribution technology as they mature. The GRUB2 bootloader is now the default, we’ve begun the process of revising and simplifying the UNIX filesystem hierarchy to improve compatibility across distributions, and during startup and and shutdown Plymouth 0.8.6.1 provides flicker-free transitions and attractive animations.
Polish
GNOME 3.4 introduces smooth scrolling in all applications, a reworked System Settings app and polished Contacts manager. XFCE 4.10 has an improved application finder and allows vertical panels. The Dolphin file manager is both prettier and faster.
Innovation
XOrg 1.12 introduces support for multitouch input devices, and multi-seat deployments. Mozilla Firefox supports the latest Web technologies. The llvmpipe software 3D renderer enables Gnome Shell and virtual machines to use compositing even where no 3D hardware is present. GIMP 2.8 and Krita 2.4 make Free image processing and natural media painting competitive with proprietary tools. Tomahawk Player promises to make listening to music on your computer a social experience.
Stability
LibreOffice 3.5 continues to refine the Free office suite experience with many additions and improvements. KDE 4.8.4′s email and calendaring applications have increased stability, while the next-generation btrfs filesystem now has improved error handling and recovery tools.
Management
The 3.4 kernel allows the capping of CPU usage across entire groups of processes. The new version of systemd offers a watchdog function for supervising services under its control, as well as a new process management tool. Sysadmins will benefit from a new suite of Digital Forensics/Incident Response tools.
Novelty
A set of heavyweight scientific tools brings math applications such as numeric computation, plotting, and visualization to openSUSE. The Stellarium astronomical simulator lets you explore the night sky without a telescope. Programmers will enjoy version 1.0.2 of Google’s Go language, as well as the latest C++ language standards implemented in GCC 4.7.1 and Qt Creator 2.5.