Rating: 
Summary: Good For Newbies
Review: Although I am computer literate (VMS, Windows), Unix and Linux are new environments for me. The default installation from Suse boots quite slowly, and a newbie would have some difficulty improving that. However, consistent software installation is facilitated very admirably via the YaSt tool. Although the useful documentation seems mainly to be on line (who would not prefer print?), it is sufficiently automated (via KDE desktop tools) and sufficiently documented to introduce any new person in a kind and gentle way. The distribution is extremely thorough, and it includes a very large quantity of very high quality software. It seems clear to me that GNU is the path to computing enlightenment, and SuSe is a very good way to get on that path. There seems to be no effective limit to the utility of the system you receive. All congratulations and thanks to the GNU people and also to the SuSe people.
Rating:
Summary: Worth The Trouble!
Review: First, there are a couple of corrections I'd like to post regarding a review of Dec 26. The review has 2 major errors that I could not leave alone:- Power Management has changed. APM is the former package that supported power management (i.e. laptops). It is still included in SuSE for older hardware support. ACPI is the new kid on the block, and is installed on newer hardware. It does have a bug that, fortunately, can be resolved easily... - Star Office is no longer in SuSE. That is correct. The review fails to mention that Star Office is a Sun Microsystems' commercial product. It is based on an open source project named Open Office. The source code and functionalities are almost identical. Open Office 'IS' included in SuSE. So, in essence, all that changed from SuSE version 8.0 to 8.1 with that office application, is the name on the icon. Now, for my own review: SuSE Linux 8.1 offered me what I wanted, as did prior versions. Since I've upgraded to 8.1, I replaced Quicken for Windows with GnuCash. I had, during my 8.0 upgrade, replaced Photoshop 5.0 with Gimp. As for administering the application, don't take the YaST application lightly - it rocks!!! I rarely update or customize my Linux without it. RedHat, on the other hand, offered (I stopped using it at around version 7.0) sereral little applications to customize the installed base. The problem was to remember which did what! There are a couple of books bundled with SuSE 8.1. There were 3 in 8.0. In my opinion, they need to reduce it to one. There is some redundant content across the 2. They do work fine though. If you are neither willing to read some software literature and comfortable installing an operating system, then Linux is not for you just yet - if ever. There are a few decisions along the installation process that you must make. Windows, on the other hand, doesn't have as many because the options don't exist. i.e. type of system you want (server, half-server, client, password mgmt, disk layout, users, ...) Don't be scared, it only takes about 30 minutes on a computer that you wish to save nothing, or up to an hour or 2 if you wish to not remove your current Windows installation - mostly unattended installation procedures. I recommend SuSE to anyone that has installed Windows a couple (few) times in the past, or feels comfortable differenciating beteen an Operating System and an Application. Linux is a bit more complex for the new user, and a whole lot more useable for the experienced. I'd never switch back.
Rating:
Summary: Corrections to a December 26 review
Review: First, there are a couple of corrections I'd like to post regarding a review of Dec 26. The review has 2 major errors that I could not leave alone: - Power Management has changed. APM is the former package that supported power management (i.e. laptops). It is still included in SuSE for older hardware support. ACPI is the new kid on the block, and is installed on newer hardware. It does have a bug that, fortunately, can be resolved easily... - Star Office is no longer in SuSE. That is correct. The review fails to mention that Star Office is a Sun Microsystems' commercial product. It is based on an open source project named Open Office. The source code and functionalities are almost identical. Open Office 'IS' included in SuSE. So, in essence, all that changed from SuSE version 8.0 to 8.1 with that office application, is the name on the icon. Now, for my own review: SuSE Linux 8.1 offered me what I wanted, as did prior versions. Since I've upgraded to 8.1, I replaced Quicken for Windows with GnuCash. I had, during my 8.0 upgrade, replaced Photoshop 5.0 with Gimp. As for administering the application, don't take the YaST application lightly - it rocks!!! I rarely update or customize my Linux without it. RedHat, on the other hand, offered (I stopped using it at around version 7.0) sereral little applications to customize the installed base. The problem was to remember which did what! There are a couple of books bundled with SuSE 8.1. There were 3 in 8.0. In my opinion, they need to reduce it to one. There is some redundant content across the 2. They do work fine though. If you are neither willing to read some software literature and comfortable installing an operating system, then Linux is not for you just yet - if ever. There are a few decisions along the installation process that you must make. Windows, on the other hand, doesn't have as many because the options don't exist. i.e. type of system you want (server, half-server, client, password mgmt, disk layout, users, ...) Don't be scared, it only takes about 30 minutes on a computer that you wish to save nothing, or up to an hour or 2 if you wish to not remove your current Windows installation - mostly unattended installation procedures. I recommend SuSE to anyone that has installed Windows a couple (few) times in the past, or feels comfortable differenciating beteen an Operating System and an Application. Linux is a bit more complex for the new user, and a whole lot more useable for the experienced. I'd never switch back.
Rating:
Summary: Great Product! Much better than Red hat 8!
Review: I don't know waht the previous reviewer is talking about, SuSE 8, has far better configuration tools than Redhat 8,a more powerful add/remove programs thingy and it actually ahs multimidia apps. Redhat 8, not only couldn't run UT2k3 but I can't even play an MP3!! SuSe also detected all my hardware, Redhat didn't detect my sound card well.
Rating:
Summary: Well integrated distribution. Powerful and complete
Review: I have been a SuSE user since version 6.4 and I have purchased every single version execpt 7.0 and 8.0. (I skip x.0 releases). SuSE 8.1 is leaps and bounds better than its earlier versions. It is also better than Red Hat 8.0 and Mandrake 9.0. It is one of those distribution that can be enjoyed by both power Unix/Linux users as well as newcomers to the Linux operating system. SuSE includes pretty much everything you could ever need to be productive: Office Suites, Window Managers, C/C++ compilers, perl, python, and JAVA compilers. It is optimized for pentium systems but SuSE also provides different kernels depending on the system you have (they have an AMD Athlon optimized kernel too). Installation is easy and straightforward for new users but it is also very flexible and powerful for more advanced users. KDE 3 is better in SuSE than in Red Hat 8.0 and SuSE offers of KDE updates (or Gnome if you prefer). Power Users and newcomers will enjoy SuSE linux. I know I do. In a few words: Powerful, Flexible, Open, Easy to Use.
Rating:
Summary: excellent with caveats
Review: I have installed this distribution on 3 servers, a workstation, and a laptop so far. It is the usual very complete set of programs and options from SuSE. All hardware was recognized and easily configured, and the default KDE desktop was pleasing. However, as with Version 8.0, There were installation flaws that should be noted. First, if installing from DVD, check the website for special instructions. Second, if you have both a DVD and a CDRW drive, you will need to pass some boot parameters (load some modules)so that the DVD is recoginized as an ide device, otherwise it will show up as a scsii device. Also, CUPS is now the standard print protocol, not LPR, so you might have to configure both. And, of course, after installation, immediately download the patches with YOU.
Rating: 
Summary: Looks great but it's still buggy...
Review: I wrote a review of Suse 8.0 and stated that if they got their act together, they could make a run for the desktop. Apparently, Suse wasn't reading my review. Hands down, it has the slickest graphics of any Linux distro and for this it is to be commended. But looks are no substitute when your system doesn't work. For instance, I installed on an IBM ThinkPad i1400 and it went great...only to reboot and show no x support. Red Hat and Mandrake supported it just fine. When I installed Suse 8.1 on a HP Pavilion 510n, it appeared to install OK but YasT never worked right. I have yet to have YasT update the system successfully. There are always errors. In short, it still appears that Suse is buggy and lacks some support where Mandrake and Red Hat provide nicely. I would recommend Mandrake as my distro of choice. Mandrake appears to have the best mix of tools, technology, and support of any of the desktop distros. One caveat: this review was written based upon my experience with my machines. Your mileage may vary. If you do decide to take a chance with Suse, have Mandrake ready just in case. Cheers!
Rating:
Summary: Best Linux Distro
Review: I've been using Linux since the early days of "go get a stack of floppies and download and copy and wait, wait, wait..." I started using RedHat at like version 5.2, and I've tried every distro I can get my hands on. SuSE has been the best distro I've come across. The hardware support is excellent their xservers for different graphics cards are top notch and they have a central configuration tool called Yast (and Yast2) they really pushes them over the top. KDE does seem much nice in SuSE 8.1 than RedHat 8.0. I recomend this distro before all others.
Rating:
Summary: Overall a good product, but...
Review: I've been with Suse since the 7.x family, and have been very happy with it overall. On this release, the DVD-ROM install utility is a bit glitchy though (had to check Suse's site to figure out how to get it functioning properly), and this is not a good omen when running it in a business environment. How could you NOT thoroughly check the DVD installer? It just makes me wonder if anything else is broke. Also, on the first online update I pulled, it downloaded some packages that were "left out" of the release.. which of course indicates they were rushing to get it out the door. They need to stop this trend right now. On the upshot, Suse has been very good about making things "right" via online updates. Still one of the most solid linux distros in my opinion, but they need to keep their rep for solidity over any attempts at user friendliness or keeping up with the Joneses with respect to releases. (Ever notice how Suse, Mandrake, and Redhat are seemingly synchronized with respect to new releases?)
Rating:
Summary: HEAD OR TAIL, IT WINS!
Review: It is clean! It is well-priced! It contains everything you will find in the Personal Edition, plus much more!
With fine features that include: GNOME 2.0, KDE 3.0, HTML editors, and Professional/Developer Network support tools, it is difficult to condemn SuSE Linux 8.1 Professional. The OS offers a lot: including enhanced systems and multimedia capabilities. The attached OpenOffice.org provides a useful Office platform, as well as a compatible bridge for Microsoft Office file formats.
As regards this product, there is indeed very little to bicker about.
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