openSUSE Aeon: a modern operating system designed for efficient work

openSUSE Aeon is a modern operating system based on GNOME desktop designed to provide minimalist maintenance and a smooth user experience. This article will explore in-depth the features of openSUSE Aeon and how it can help developers get their jobs efficiently.

Table of contents

• openSUSE Aeon RC2 release
  • New features of openSUSE Aeon RC2
• Download openSUSE Aeon
• Key Features
• Summarize

What is openSUSE Aeon?

openSUSE Aeon is a modern operating system based on the GNOME desktop environment, providing an automated and low-maintenance computing experience.

openSUSE Aeon is based on openSUSE Tumbleweed, but it only supports a small number of packages in Tumbleweed.

Focus and efficient

openSUSE Aeon provides a simple and clear desktop experience without complex configurations or settings. It avoids redundant software components that may slow down the system.

Automatic update

System updates will be automatically installed in the background and will not interrupt your workflow. These updates will not affect your running system until you restart.

This approach keeps your workday consistent and avoids any unexpected issues or incompatibility related to the application you are currently running.

When you are ready, you can restart to apply updates at any time, which will take effect the next time the system starts. If any problems occur during the update process, the system will automatically restore to the last known working state to ensure the stability and reliability of the system.

Target user group

openSUSE Aeon is not for everyone. It is designed for those who prioritize easy worry-free and automated desktop experiences.

• Developers who want to focus on their work without having to constantly manage their operating systems.
• Users who are used to a consistent and predictable experience, similar to iOS, Chromebooks, or Android devices, apps are the main focus.

For users who prefer to customize and tweak desktop environments, traditional openSUSE Tumbleweed and Leap distributions are still recommended options.

Design goals

Aeon's goal is to be reliable, predictable and unchanging, similar to the openSUSE MicroOS distribution.

While Aeon offers fewer customization options than the regular openSUSE Tumbleweed/Leap, it ensures the functionality of basic tasks such as printing, gaming, and media production.

Software installation

Aeon contains a streamlined underlying system and GNOME desktop environment . This underlying system is designed in a streamlined manner, while providing everything you need to start a task, including programming, gaming, media production and office/paper work.

Aeon is preconfigured with Distrobox to start Tumbleweed containers, which is ideal for running your development tools and projects in a containerized environment.

To install other applications directly on your Aeon system, you can use the already set Flatpak , which you can browse and install your favorite applications from Flathub:

• Use the Flatpak package from Flathub (integrated with GNOME Software) to get applications, browsers, codecs, and more.
• Other installation methods are available, but Flatpak is preferred for its sandboxing and self-contained features.

Transactional updates

openSUSE Aeon utilizes transactional updates to provide atomic system updates by leveraging the functionality of Btrfs snapshots.

Your system is updated in a new snapshot and your current system is not affected until you restart. If the update fails for any reason, a new snapshot can be discarded, ensuring your system remains bootable and functional.

The snapshot contains your configuration file in the /etc directory, allowing you to roll back configuration changes.

Transactional updates support your current RPM packages as well as most packages available in the openSUSE repository.

Related readings :

• OpenSUSE Aeon Desktop Enhances Security with Full Disk Encryption

openSUSE Aeon RC2 release

The development team recently announced the availability of openSUSE Aeon RC2 . This version candidate provides a preview of the upcoming stable release, allowing users to explore its features and provide feedback before the final release.

New features of openSUSE Aeon RC2

openSUSE Aeon RC2 introduces several innovative features that are not found by default in other openSUSE versions:

Performance enhancement

• Includes Linux kernel module zram to improve system performance by avoiding swapping to slower HDDs or limited wear SSDs.

Installation process

• Revolutionary image-based installations supported by the new installer tik (transactional installation kit) , ensuring the same configuration out of the box.
• Ability to migrate existing user accounts, applications, data, WiFi/VPN configurations and rootless containers to new installations.

Security and availability

• No root account configured . The first user created during the installation process uses his password as well as sudo and policykit to perform administrative tasks.

Startup process

• A clean and silent startup process with no flashing or random log output, thanks to systemd-boot .
• It is worth noting that the fast startup time is about 8 seconds on slower machines.

Hardware optimization

• If hardware supports it, the x86_64_v3-optimized libraries are automatically downloaded and updated to provide faster systems without user intervention.
• Tailored for gamers, with specific SELinux configurations that support the game while maintaining a strong security policy.

Remote access

• Remote access is disabled by default , but it can be easily enabled and managed through the GNOME Settings app.

Disk Management

• The first openSUSE distribution that utilizes systemd-repart benefits from Linux User Space API (uapi_group's) to discover partition specifications, enabling more intuitive and efficient disk management.

Btrfs compression

• Btrfs compression is used by default, reducing SSD wear, usually improving performance, and saving over 40% of disk space used in standard installations.

Automatic update

• Automatically update users' distroboxes system updates and flatpak updates, ensuring that users always get the latest updates with minimal effort.

This release candidate marks a first step, and the development team welcomes the further contribution of the developer community to take the desktop experience to a higher level.

As development progresses, you can expect a more stable version with many innovative features and enhancements.

Download openSUSE Aeon

Download the openSUSE Aeon image from the official download page and create a bootable USB drive. We recommend using the Ventoy application to create a bootable USB on Linux.

As mentioned earlier, the Aeon installer supported by tik is easy to use. It can run seamlessly on any x86_64 laptop or desktop equipped with UEFI BIOS . For optimal security, we recommend enabling secure boot .

After inserting the Aeon bootable USB disk, restart the computer. Find the Start Menu key (usually F12 or F10) during startup and press it to access the Startup options. Select the USB drive that contains the Aeon installer to start the boot process.

It will walk you through the installation process with minimal problems and ensure your system is set up smoothly.

Once the installation is complete, log in to the newly installed OpenSUSE Aeon and start using it.

You can verify the installed version from the command line using the following command:

 <code>cat /etc/os-release</code>

Sample output :

 <code>NAME="openSUSE Aeon" # VERSION="20240524" ID="opensuse-aeon" ID_LIKE="suse opensuse opensuse-tumbleweed opensuse-microos" VERSION_ID="20240524" PRETTY_NAME="openSUSE Aeon" ANSI_COLOR="0;32" CPE_NAME="cpe:/o:opensuse:aeon:20240524" BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugzilla.opensuse.org" SUPPORT_URL="https://bugs.opensuse.org" HOME_URL="https://www.aeondesktop.org/" DOCUMENTATION_URL="https://en.opensuse.org/Portal:Aeon" LOGO="distributor-logo-Aeon"</code>

You can also check the openSUSE Aeon version from your system settings.

Key Features

1. A relaxed and worry-free experience : openSUSE Aeon provides a user-friendly desktop experience without complex setup or maintenance. It focuses on getting you started working directly without unnecessary interference.
2. Automatic update : System updates will be automatically installed in the background without affecting your work. You can restart at your convenience.
3. Rollback function : If the update fails, openSUSE Aeon can automatically restore to its previous working state to ensure system stability.
4. Streamlined underlying system : Aeon has a streamlined and efficient underlying system.
5. Container development : Aeon pre-configured Distrobox to start Tumbleweed containers, enabling a seamless containerized development workflow.
6. Simplified software installation : Flatpak integrated with Flathub provides access to a variety of applications through a user-friendly interface.
7. Performance Optimization : Aeon will automatically install optimized libraries for supported hardware to ensure optimal performance without user intervention.
8. Transactional Updates : With Btrfs snapshots, Aeon performs atomic system updates, allowing easy rollback and configuration changes.
9. Default security : By default, no root account is configured to enhance security, while providing administrative access through sudo and policykit.
10. Customized for specific use cases : With features such as game-optimized SELinux policies and disabled remote access, Aeon can meet various user preferences and requirements.

Summarize

openSUSE Aeon is currently in the release candidate phase, which means it is a pre-release version for testing and evaluation.

Users are encouraged to explore their features and provide feedback to help improve the final stable version. If you encounter any errors, please report them at http://ipnx.cn/link/c9c346f0d25cac2d93439db2c736bc8b .

resource :

• openSUSE Aeon

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