GeckoLinux is a Linux spin based on the openSUSE distribution, with a focus on polish and out-of-the-box usability on the desktop. It is available in Static (based on openSUSE Leap) and Rolling (based on openSUSE Tumbleweed) editions.
Please read the release notes on GitHub.
- An installable live DVD / USB image based on openSUSE around 1GB in size
- Individual editions for many different popular desktop environments with a pleasant default configuration
- Carefully selected open source desktop programs and proprietary media codecs pre-installed and ready to use
- Beautiful open source font rendering configured out of the box
- Optimal power management with TLP pre-installed
- Much more open source and patent encumbered software available in the pre-configured repositories
- Uses the excellent infrastructure already in place for openSUSE, with no repackaging or modification of packages
- An installed system can be smoothly upgraded to future openSUSE releases while retaining its unique GeckoLinux configuration.
- GeckoLinux comes as an offline installable live DVD / USB image for Static and Rolling editions, whereas openSUSE has a non-live DVD / USB installer, a net-installer image, or Tumbleweed live DVD / USB with net-installer options.
- GeckoLinux offers customized editions optimized for different desktop environments, whereas openSUSE requires the user to know how to install patterns and packages for different desktop environments.
- GeckoLinux comes pre-installed with common niceties such as proprietary media codecs, whereas openSUSE for legal reasons requires users to know how to add additional repositories and which packages to add.
- GeckoLinux prefers packages from the Packman repo when they are available, whereas some of openSUSE's default packages don't work with patent-restricted features even if the features are installed from other sources.
- GeckoLinux comes pre-configured with what many would consider to be good font rendering, whereas many users find openSUSE's default font configuration to be less than desirable.
- GeckoLinux does not force the installation of additional recommended packages after system installation, whereas openSUSE pre-installs patterns and automatically installs recommended package dependencies, thus causing many additional and possibly unwanted packages to be installed the first time the package manager is used.
- GeckoLinux's desktop programs can be uninstalled with all their dependencies, whereas openSUSE's patterns often cause uninstalled packages to be automatically re-installed.
I've used Linux on the desktop since approximately 2001. I have used many versions of openSUSE since the project's inception, and I used SuSE Linux before that. I've always appreciated openSUSE's flexibility and highly innovative infrastructure, but the profusion of "paper cuts" in the default configuration always made me think twice before recommending it to others. This projects sets out to change that.