Rating: Summary: The Linux I've been waiting for. Review: After years of desparation with blue screens and mystery freezes I needed to look into Linux again. My first time (SuSE 6.0) was a disaster. Never could get the audio to work. But the lure of turning IE and WMA off was too appealing to ignore. YaST is worth the price of admission alone. THIS is the way to install a Linux system, brainless! I only had to think once, and that was with the modem; had to parse the modem.inf file to find the correct specs. And that was it. Ripping audio, mail, internet, and VCD all setup in one nite! However, DVD support is not included due to legal issues and you will not escape UNIX, so get ready for a lot of questions (tar && bootstraps)?. It is well worth it to learn an arcane language to regain control of my PC.
Rating: Summary: Linux = advanced. Novice computer users should stick to Win Review: Don't listen to these "horror stories!" Suse specifically instructs users to back up their computers before installing a new operating system when partitioning different OSs. Yes, 9 is designed to work with newer users, but Linux itself is designed for advanced users. For those of you that don't like Suse, stay away from Linux, cause this is as easy as it gets. If you don't like Microsoft, get a Mac.
Rating: Summary: Linux = advanced. Novice computer users should stick to Win Review: Don't listen to these "horror stories!" Suse specifically instructs users to back up their computers before installing a new operating system when partitioning different OSs. Yes, 9 is designed to work with newer users, but Linux itself is designed for advanced users. For those of you that don't like Suse, stay away from Linux, cause this is as easy as it gets. If you don't like Microsoft, get a Mac.
Rating: Summary: Near Perfect Review: During my life, and after a good number of years working with microcomputers (PC's), I have performed many installations of MS-DOS and Windows. Since the days of PC-DOS, through Windows 3.0 and 3.1, and MS-DOS 6.22, and then to Windows 95, 98, and 98SE (I refused to move to Windows Me, 2000 and/or XP for obvious reasons), it has been very unusual NOT to have compatibility issues and trouble finding drivers for different components, like graphic adapters, sound cards, etc. The normal rule with any Windows version has been that you have to have all the disks containing ALL the drivers for all the hardware inside the computer you're installing Windows onto. In other words: countless problems.With SuSE Linux, and I'm quite sure it's about the same with other Linux distributions, it's very unusual to even have issues with drivers, or to need additional disks with drivers, if you have the distribution disks. In other words: very close to zero problems. During the last few weeks, I have performed a dozen or so, installations of SuSE Linux Personal 8.2 and Professional 9.0, and I can tell you that I could count with one hand's fingers the few issues, not problems, I've found during those installations. I mean, no more than 3 or 4 issues that were easily solved, after installing those 10-12 machines! What a difference! Did I need to reboot the computers after changing configurations, or installing additional software? Very rarely. Did I spend a lot of time looking for drivers? Nope. Would I like to install any version of Windows any more? Not at all. Would I like to install Linux again? You bet I do!
Rating: Summary: What a breeze is installing SuSE Linux! Review: During my life, and after a good number of years working with microcomputers (PC's), I have performed many installations of MS-DOS and Windows. Since the days of PC-DOS, through Windows 3.0 and 3.1, and MS-DOS 6.22, and then to Windows 95, 98, and 98SE (I refused to move to Windows Me, 2000 and/or XP for obvious reasons), it has been very unusual NOT to have compatibility issues and trouble finding drivers for different components, like graphic adapters, sound cards, etc. The normal rule with any Windows version has been that you have to have all the disks containing ALL the drivers for all the hardware inside the computer you're installing Windows onto. In other words: countless problems. With SuSE Linux, and I'm quite sure it's about the same with other Linux distributions, it's very unusual to even have issues with drivers, or to need additional disks with drivers, if you have the distribution disks. In other words: very close to zero problems. During the last few weeks, I have performed a dozen or so, installations of SuSE Linux Personal 8.2 and Professional 9.0, and I can tell you that I could count with one hand's fingers the few issues, not problems, I've found during those installations. I mean, no more than 3 or 4 issues that were easily solved, after installing those 10-12 machines! What a difference! Did I need to reboot the computers after changing configurations, or installing additional software? Very rarely. Did I spend a lot of time looking for drivers? Nope. Would I like to install any version of Windows any more? Not at all. Would I like to install Linux again? You bet I do!
Rating: Summary: Good Distro Review: Good Linux Distro. If you are buying because people says Windows is unstable and unsecure, you're doomed. If you've dreamed having Unix machine home, might better to go with Debian, Gentoo, or BSDs. If you like computers, building PCs, and thought "I gotta be little more cool", then this is for you. Unlike company says, Linux is not replacement for Windows. If something doesn't work under Windows, it's Microsoft's fault! If something broke under Linux, it's your fault. If you are genius, there's a source code so that you can fix it. If you are normal people, there's lots of community in web that some kind genius spend some time with normal people giving out some help. If you are rich, buy yearly support from consultants or company and pay more than for Windows.
Rating: Summary: Good Distro Review: Good Linux Distro. If you are buying because people says Windows is unstable and unsecure, you're doomed. If you've dreamed having Unix machine home, might better to go with Debian, Gentoo, or BSDs. If you like computers, building PCs, and thought "I gotta be little more cool", then this is for you. Unlike company says, Linux is not replacement for Windows. If something doesn't work under Windows, it's Microsoft's fault! If something broke under Linux, it's your fault. If you are genius, there's a source code so that you can fix it. If you are normal people, there's lots of community in web that some kind genius spend some time with normal people giving out some help. If you are rich, buy yearly support from consultants or company and pay more than for Windows.
Rating: Summary: Completely dissatisfied Review: I am completely dissatisfied with Suse Linux 9.0. This product does not run on my computer although my computer (Toshiba Satellite Pro 480 CDT) is listed in Suse's hardware database as full integrated. The installation crashed at the very first step. Suse does not keep its promises as displayed on their website concerning a 60 day free installation support. Til today I did not get any helpful advice.
Rating: Summary: It's good, but I like Red Hat 9.0 better Review: I am new to Linux in general, and thought I'd try another distro (especially since I can by an os for $40 or less with Linux vs. M$ at several hundred a pop). I have installed Red Hat and Mandrake on my DELL 2600 Inspiron laptop prior to trying Suse. As a user who got very use to point and click installs from M$, I have to say that the install is painless and fairly quick (for an os install). After clicking on a few prompts your os is on it's way to installation. I installed Suse on it's own hardrive, I did not try to dual boot it. Although I am a fan of the painless install and setup, I was not crazy about the layout, and themes. I then decided to replace Suse with Red Hat. Overall, Suse is a good os for a Linux newbie to use, the install/setup is not very difficult, but I do suggest to a user to read the manual/documentation before installing (especially if you are trying to dual boot w/ Windoze). The desktop is similar to M$' and a person with good PC skills should be able to get up and running almost immediately. However, I still like Red Hat's (despite it now becoming Fedora) desktop more. My suggestion is to try several Linux distributions, and see what suites your personal taste.
Rating: Summary: Be Careful! Review: I believe in Linux. I was ready to switch from XP. I was excited. I found SuSE 9.0 and was ready to go. Their site had a lot of good information and encouragement, including: "No previous experience is needed to install SUSE LINUX on any common PC - even alongside an existing Windows operating system." The YaST setup tool was very smooth. I followed SuSE's recommendations, being a complete novice with "no previous experience," and went with the recommended setup options. This included selecting to have the Windows partition resized, not deleted, and have the boot loader give me the option to boot either Linux or Windows OS. Well, rebooted after installation (by the way, make sure your printer is supported)and didn't receive any option other than Linux. Contacted SuSE's tech support and was told that the free installation support did not cover this topic. I needed to mount the Windows partition. I could pay for that support if I wanted. I went to Linux.com instead and received intelligent *free* support from the forum there. Had a couple of unsuccessful attempts to mount the Windows partition. Guess what? Discovered that there was no windows partition on my system anymore. ?????????? Contacted SuSE and told them I thought this did qualify as an installation issue. Here's part of their response: "During installation you can choose where to install Linux, it's on the installation settings screen. Also, you can choose to shrink an existing partition. Frankly, I'm afraid you've deleted your windows partition. Please _always_ read all instructions careful, all the information during installation are there for a reason. Just clicking 'Next', can cause changes you didn't want." Really?! I did choose where to install Linux. I did choose to shrink the existing partition (their recommendation). I did read the installation instructions (remember - no prior experience necessary). As their website states, "The following paragraphs show how even newcomers can install SUSE LINUX 9.0 in 9 easy steps." It also states, "Then, YaST2 will automatically check your system and present an installation proposal. If you wish, you can easily install additional applications or change some of the settings. Experienced users have a lot of configuration options. Newcomers can simply click Accept." Of course, as I was admonished, "just clicking 'next' can cause changes you didn't want." Oh, and it says, "After you click OK, YaST will prepare the hard disk. Existing Windows partitions will be resized automatically to make room for SUSE LINUX." I guess I should have anticipated that "resized" could mean resized to zero. Finally, "When the system is powered on, you can choose whether you want to boot Linux or another operating system." They need to add, "unless we deleted your windows partition." I just don't know what to say at this point. I still believe Linux is a more stable OS than XP. My opinion of SuSE however was "resized" if not completely "deleted." Their site promises much, including: "SUSE LINUX is easy - probably much easier than you think. However, if you should encounter any difficulty - which is quite unlikely - our support team will be at your command..."
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