My notes on using openSUSE Tumbleweed
Disclaimer!
The content published on this page consists of my notes on using openSUSE Tumbleweed Gnome edition and is not meant to teach or help.
Use at your own discretion.
Get openSUSE Tumbleweed
openSUSE Tumbleweed download link: https://get.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/
Usually, I just grab the network image ISO plus the checksum as verification is a must and I never skip it. Then, I transfer the latest ISO image to a USB stick, reboot the computer and install.
Installing openSUSE Tumbleweed
Many YouTube videos cover this procedure. All in all, installing openSUSE is straight forward.
The installer allows for early customization to get that perfect install. I customize the Software section by not installing LibreOffice or any of the games. In addition, I remove several Gnome apps like Maps, Clocks as well as all of the VNC software in order to get a minimal install which I then tune some more after the first boot.
Gnome Tweaks
Gnome offers me the fastest work flow and I use the settings section to further disable what I don’t want. Once all of the Gnome Settings have been adjusted, I switch the default icons with the stunning Kora icon set which is available here: https://www.gnome-look.org/p/1256209
Before installing, I use the MD5SUM to verify the integrity of the zip file. When done, I extract it and move the contents of the three directories to /usr/share/icons. This way, they get used system-wide, including YaST.
Gnome Extensions
I try and keep my setup as minimalist as possible but to speed up the work flow, I use Dash to Panel and Alphabetical App Grid as the only extensions. Having all icons sorted alphabetically is a must because openSUSE adds a lot of YaST tools in addition to the built-in Gnome software.
This video shows how I customize the Dash to Panel Gnome extension (will be available in a few days)
KVM Virt Manager
Most of my web design and programming projects are done in virtual machines as they offer me an easy and fast way to back up everything.
sudo zypper install -t pattern kvm_server kvm_tools
sudo zypper in qemu && sudo zypper in libvirt
sudo zypper install libvirt-daemon
sudo systemctl enable libvirtd.service
sudo systemctl start libvirtd.service
Lastly, I add my user account to the libvirt group with: sudo usermod -a -G libvirt $(whoami)
After that, I proceed to install openSUSE Tumbleweed the same way as always and remove even more software as I will not need web cam and similar functionality when I work on websites or write Python or PHP code.
Note! Never install more virtual machines then needed because updating and maintaining them takes a lot of time.
Opensource Software
My Zephyrus G15 laptop runs ThunderBird, Gimp, Godot, Blender, FreeCAD, Shotcut, the Brave browser and a LAMP server with a complete local mirror of my web server.
The graphics workstation runs Gimp, Blender, Godot, FreeCAD and Harrison Mixbus.
My go-to PC is a Dell Precision workstation which runs virtual machines, Gimp, Codium and the Brave browser in addition to the Firefox browser. These days, I do most of my programming with Gedit, the Nano editor or when working on WordPress sites, right within the browser. Gedit has enough plugins available to duplicate most of the workflow which trendy IDE’s offer.
Lastly, I use a dedicated home server which is a Dell Optiplex 3060 and runs on Ubuntu server edition.
The above listing is enough to do web design, programming, 3D modeling, video editing and audio production. Best of all, opensource software is free and I have no stability issues when using a Linux operating system.
All in all, I use four computers which run only the needed software to do specific jobs. All work is backed up on external drives with gives me the freedom to reinstall the operating system when needed.
Hardware
Linux can be finicky and to avoid compatibility issues, I buy Linux-friendly equipment. Except for the laptop, I use only Dell computers paired with ultrawide LG monitors, Razer mice and keyboards. Gnome makes networking of the components easy and I transfer all content between the devices via SSH.
Bonus Software
To the best of my knowledge, openSUSE is the only Linux distribution that comes with Ruby pre-installed. Although not as trendy as Python, Ruby is my favorite programming language and I use it a lot for prototyping.
Much more to come …