Changes and Updates in SuSE Linux 7.3
This is a brief overview of the changes made to SuSE Linux 7.3, most of all the hardware configuration, the
games series, the multimedia possibilities, scanner configuration and the configuration with YaST2 and SaX2.
- New versions of important components
- Kernel 2.4.10
- glibc 2.2.4
- XFree86 4.1.0
- KDE 2.2.1
- GNOME 1.4.1 beta2
- New modules in YaST2
- Scanner configuration
- Configuration tool for the SuSE firewall
- LVM configuration: partitioning in a running system
- TV card configuration (bttv)
- Automatic detection and configuration of most IDE CD burners
- Runlevel editor for (de)activating system services
- Keyboard selector in installed system
- Basic X server reconfiguration in YaST2 in an installed system (using
ISaX)
- NIS server administration tool (only professional edition)
- YaST2 innovations
- Partitioning tool available in installed system
- The partitioning tool can make an educated guess as to the most appropriate partition setup
- New package selections: packages are grouped and groups can be
combined
- Support for new file systems ext3 and jfs
- New module for software-RAID support
- Product slideshow during package installation
- ncurses key shortcut support in the YaST2 text version
- XFree86 4.1 allows usage of graphical YaST2 in a vmware system
- SaX2 innovations
- Configuration of touchscreens and graphics tablets
- Support for "cloned multihead" (several screens combined into one).
- SaX2 fastpath configuration of input devices, desktop settings and
layout, and multihead on an installed X server
- New in manuals
- Configuration of 3D hardware acceleration of your graphics card
- New documentation for SaX2 and its new features
- Other improvements/changes
- Supportmatrix for Oracle products on the Web at http://www.suse.com/en/support/oracle/
- New user-friendly scanner program kooka
- NIS- and LDAP client
- The new dualhead graphics card Matrox G550 is supported.
- Support for SmartCards and
SmardCard Reader by using the
OpenSource libraries MUSCLE and SCEZ.
- Many nice new games
- New midi-controlled effekt processor kladspa
- Specials
- Optimized linker: by intelligent sorting of program functions in the relocation tabels, an efficient cache can be used and many larger programs will start faster.
- On older computers, because of the new boot concept, it might happen that you cannot boot from CD1.
Then the computer has to be booted with CD 2 or boot disk.
- Because of the automatic activation of DMA by the new kernel, the installation might stop suddenly. The option of a "safe installation" should solve the problem.
- Because of a new version of autoconf, building of configure scripts may be problematic (most of all with KDE programs). To solve these problems you have to download the templates (the admin directory) of the KDE2.2 sources from the websites of KDE.
- The new version 7.1.3 of PostgreSQL has a new data format. The database content has
to be dumped _bevore_ the update and to be reinstalled after. Read the exact manual at:
/usr/share/doc/packages/postgresql/README.SuSE
- In case you have installed the official 3D driver of nVidia for your
graphic board, it will be replaced during a system update because of
the missing kernel module (due to license issues we cannot include it)
to the Dummy nVidia driver of SuSE. So you'll have to update the
driver (packages NVIDIA_GLX + NVIDIA_kernel) after a system update via
YOU (YaST Online Update) respective the website of nVidia again.
Otherwise OpenGL/3D Rendering is very slow.