Ben Kevan’s Blog

Upgrading pidgin to 2.5.2 (also GIMP and more) on openSUSE 11.0

I was reading a thread on the openSUSE forums where someone asked for the newest version of pidgin, but the answers given were quite “blah” to me.

I added posted basiclly this same thing in the thread:

Add the GNOME Community repo:

sudo zypper ar sudo zypper ar Index of /repositories/GNOME:/Community/openSUSE_11.0 GNOME\ Community GNOME\ Community

Update the pidgin package:

sudo zypper in pidgin

(This is install)
or

sudo zypper up pidgin

(This is update)

Why don’t you just update all the packages included in the GNOME Community repository? Some of the packages in this repository are Tomboy and GIMP. To do this just run:

sudo zypper up -t package -r GNOME\ Community

(note: I am using the Repository name I added with the zypper ar

Tags: 11.0, opensuse, pidgin, tutorial

RealPlayer dropped from openSUSE, here’s why

On the opensuse factory forums Alberto wondered why RealPlayer was dropped from openSUSE and pointed to this novell bugzilla report

I can’t believe that it’s because of the cost issue (as RealPlayer’s website doesn’t say there’s a cost but you do have to sign a license with them). Here are some of the portions of interest from RealPlayers Licensing FAQ:

2. What are the requirements for distributing the RealPlayer or RealJukebox on my CD?
Complete the on-line registration form, agree to the terms in the license agreement and submit your registration. Once your registration is approved you will be given the location where you can download a RealPlayer/RealJukebox specifically for distribution.

Granting of a license to distribute the RealPlayer/RealJukebox is subject to RealNetworks’ approval for quality assurance and appropriateness of material and software bundle. Granting of a license is also subject to all United States laws and trade policies.

3. How much does it cost to distribute the RealPlayer/RealJukebox on my CD?
Distributing the RealPlayer is free for Windows, Mac and available Unix platforms.

Honestly, I am glad Novell has done this, and hope all others do to. It should send a big enough message to other companies that have freely distributed software that “it should be allowed without an agreement, as long as it isn’t modified”.

if you really want realplayer 11 you can download it from real.com

Tags: 11.0, legal, opensuse, real player

Installing VMWare Workstation 6.0.4 on openSUSE 11.0

So the time has come. OpenSUSE is now in release canidate cycle, and VMWare has released VMWare Workstation 6.0.4 which will work on openSUSE 11.0 natively (without the need of the vmware-any-any patch for 2.6.25 kernel).

I have created a new wiki just for openSUSE 11.0 and VMWare Workstation 6.0.4.

You can find it here in the wiki

I will be creating a new Wiki and Blog post for an installation of VMWare Workstation 6.5 on openSUSE 11.0 since there are currently some “Gotha’s” in the beta because of how GCC is detected.

Tags: 11.0, opensuse, VMWare