What issues can I expect to run into after switching to openSUSE?
I'm currently a Debian user, as I value reliability a lot. But I heard that openSUSE has exceptional QA testing with a rolling release model and an out-of-the-box snapshot system. I think I'd prefer this over Debian's overly stable model, as I often run into dependency hell when trying to compile certain apps from GitHub for example.
But I have a few concerns:
- I heard video codecs can fail, as they are provided by a 3rd party that doesn't reliably keep up with updates. How often can I expect this to mess with my business, and is there a way to prevent it? I'd rather hold the update for a while than have things unexpectedly break on me.
- I heard video codecs can break on Mesa drivers due to some patents. Is that something that anyone here has experienced? And if so, is there a one-time fix that you don't have to bother with ever again?
- I heard openSUSE has some libraries that, even though they use the same version as all others, they're built different and have some rare incompatibility issues. Is this a real concern or just some unlucky 1:100000 occurrence?
- I heard certain things work and are organized rather oddly compared to other distros. Can I expect to run into issues because of this?
- How supported is openSUSE when it comes to installing not-so-mainstream apps? Is there a community repo for these things?
- Snapshots are cool. But, from the screenshots I've seen of it, openSUSE seems to save DOZENS of them. Is there a way to limit it to just the last 3 or 5? How much space does a snapshot usually hold?
- Can I convert my drive from ext4 to BTRFS without wiping its contents? And would it be recommended to do so?
- I heard openSUSE is kinda bloated and it also reinstalls things you remove without asking. Is there a way to stop that, and is it easy to do so?
- Can I freeze stuff like GNOME and all that depends on it on a lower version (like 49) until all extensions that I use are updated? Also can I downgrade packages?
- Does Secure Boot work okay with no compromises on openSUSE?
- Ultimately, is there anything else other than what I've mentioned?
I've been interested in openSUSE for a long time and I've been collecting all the possible issues I could expect out of it. I really like the philosophy of it and how much the community loves this distro and welcomes new members. I'm pretty much on the verge of switching, but I wanna make sure there are no deal-breakers before I jump boat.