And when it doesn't work its back to Windows 7

Unfortunately that is the only logical option.

Since 2009 my Samsung R510 Laptop has been struggling to cope with Linux. Essentially it works but not as efficient as I would like.

The biggest issues I have relate to the system performance and battery time, both of which just cannot beat Windows 7 (and Vista)

Battery time has been an ongoing issue with Linux in general, I remain hopeful that one day the situation will be much improved and I currently praise the efforts being made by Canonical Ltd to improve battery time in their next LTS of Ubuntu.

http://smackerelofopinion.blogspot.com/2011/12/improving-battery-life-in-ubuntu.html

But we have to be realistic, until more hardware vendors back Linux the current situation for the majority of Laptop users will continue to plague users. Poor battery time, laptops running hot, lack of functionality and noticeably slower system performance.

And inline with being realistic, it is back to Windows 7 on my R510.

In future I will be more careful when buying a laptop and pick one that is Linux compatible. A practice I do when building PC's.

http://www.ubuntu.com/certification/

So let me see, anti virus installed, disk fragmentation looking good, service pack 1 installed, windows fully up to date, download drivers, why is it a pain in the arse to find up to date Atheros drivers......

The death of Mandriva - 16th January 2012?

For the full details see:

http://forum.mandriva.com/en/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=136549

Well,let's make it short: everything was fine, but there is a big problem: a minor shareholder (Linlux) refuses the capital injection required for Mandriva to continue, even though the Russian investor had offered to bear it alone .

Except turnaround Mandriva should cease activity Jan. 16 (Sorry for the bad news, for those who did not already know).

Perhaps that explains the fork by Rosalabs.


http://www.rosalab.ru/

A look at openSUSE 12.1 and the openSUSE Project

Visit http://linuxtweaking.com to read the full review.

Final Thoughts...

I have mixed views about openSUSE 12.1.

It is often repeated across the internet that openSUSE is the KDE distribution to use but I am having serious difficulties agreeing with this view when Fedora 16 KDE currently offers a smoother, faster, less bloated experience.

It is also very hard to work out what the openSUSE community is trying to achieve with openSUSE in general. I have read their documentation and wiki and it is a world apart from the reality.

http://linuxtweaking.com/alookatopensuse121.html