Rating: Summary: Great Distro for a New to Intermediate User Review: If you can install Windows, then you can install this. The YaST2 installer was one of the easiest that I've ever used - I quickly had my system installed and running without ever consulting the directions once. This is the fourth distro that I've decided to play with (Mandrake, Red Hat, and Debian being the first), and IMHO I think it is the most end-user ready. If I had to give one complaint, it would be that I could not find an option during the install to select a non-graphical login, but that is mere cosmetics. I don't ever see this replacing my FreeBSD server, but it will make an excellent development/day-to-day work machine, plus it doesn't terrify my non-techie girlfriend.
Rating: Summary: Needs to be worked on all the time Review: If you like to work on a pc or like the idea of having no applications, no standards, or just overall no functionality then Linux is for you. Otherwise, Windows XP is the best operating system out there.... Why go back to command line, it is pointless. When I use a workstation I do not want to open a shell window and type commands. That is why we have Windows, to point and click. Plus, no software is available for Linux, not unless you trust some hacker community off the internet...
Rating: Summary: tired of windows? Review: Lets start this out by saying I am 15, and I'm not a computer whiz..so I was worried about getting this program. But it was sooo easy to install! My computer is very old, so the second delays between downloading it turned into hours..but I let it run overnight, and it downloaded fine. There's so many programs to choose from when downloading, and its really easy to delete and install more programs from the cd. It's really great that linux can run on your computer along with windows because for some reason I can't get my scanner to run under linux..but everything else works perfectly!
Rating: Summary: Buyer Beware Review: Looks to me that what these people sell is the download version of SuSE, and not the retail package version. The retail version includes additional commercial versions of, for example, OCR software, and more .. I think using the retail package graphics is at least misleading if not unethical !
L.T.
Rating: Summary: Probably the most advanced Linux distribution Review: My first computer was running a *BSD system. Then I moved to Solaris, then to Linux, then to Windows, and now I am back with Linux again. I have worked with all Linux distributions you can put your hands on. As a matter of fact, I have been working for a European computer magazine, which topic was Linux and Unix systems. Therefore, I am an experienced user of Unix/Linux systems. Currently, I have four computers running at my place - desktop, server, laptop, and a music box. Before, I used to put a different distribution on each of these computers - Slacware on the server, Mandrake on the music box, debian on my desktop and redhat on my laptop. It was a problem - everytime there was an important bug discovered I had to update all my machines - each one using different tools and so on. This was what got me a little bit mad at Linux. What I wanted was a one distribution which I would put on all my computers, and which will be easy to maintain and use. I also did not want my distro to limit me in any way. Then I have discovered SuSE. Currently, I use SuSE 8.2 Professional on ALL of my computers, including my computer at work. This systems allows itself to be adjusted to the need of the user - it is not a server or desktop distro - it is whatever you want it to be! Also, what I really like about this system is the automatic update feature - just like in Windows. I know that some people do not like it... but I surely do! It is just because I am a really busy man and I plainly have not time to keep track of all the bugs out there. Some people might say that Linux has less functionality than Windows. Well, this is not true. The 'out of the box' Linux system has much more software then Windows and, to be honest, some of this software is of a very high quality (emacs, adobe acrobat reader, rplayer, mplayer, mp3 ripper and conventer, TV software, lots of audio software, several internet browsers - including mozilla - and mail clients - including Evolution which is an equivalent of Microsoft's Outlook). Yes - Linux is not for novices. But KDE and GNOME, GUI environments for Linux, are very easy to learn and use. My girlfriend, who does not really know much about computers, recently got a used IBM laptop and installed SuSE 8.2 Personal (with KDE as default GUI) on it. She started using it right away - without reading any tutorial or book! This is how easy it can be. Anyway... i have lots of gadgets. Color printer with duplex, digital camera, DVD burner, and so one. All of these gadgets work just fine on my SuSE desktop. Well, maybe except DVD burner which is sometimes a little bit tricky to get it going. Guys at SuSE are doing a great job. Their system could easily replace Windows... and I feel that upcomming SuSE 9.0 will be even more desktop friendly. I know some people might ask why should I pay for SuSE if I can download it for free??? And I have no answer to this question. But I know I use it on four of my computers and I have been buying SuSE since 7.1 - because it is worth it.
Rating: Summary: Desktop Linux Review: Okay, the professional review says that this product is easy to install and setup straight out of the box and that no computer experience is neccessary. Well, you might get lucky. Linux is a fantastic operating system and is a viable alternative to Windows but... While the installation tool YAST2 set up the system using an intuitive installation interface it didn't quite get everything right; getting my graphics card to work properly meant going to the vendors site (NVIDIA) and downloading their drivers and installing them myself. Additionally tweaking the system is not as easy as with Windows and, of course, you have a limited selection of software that will run on Linux. Having said all that, with SUSE Linux you get an excellent set of installation and application manuals (when was the last time Microsoft put documentation in their box?) and there is quite a bit of software that comes with the system. You get two complete office packages (K office and OpenOffice) which are more or less compatible with MS Office. While not too many software companys write versions for Linux, not too many virus authors do either. Now that most of the bugs are out of Linux it is a phenomonally stable system. I haven't ever had to reboot my Linux box in the past couple of years, where my XP machine gets the "master bus reset" treatment every couple of months. Also SUSE does provide 90 days of installation support, which I haven't had to use as I have fairly extensive UNIX/Linux experience. Overall, if you want to dabble in Linux and either have some computer savvy or are willing to learn this package is more than worth the price!
Rating: Summary: Best SuSE Linux Distribution So Far Review: SuSE Linux 8.2 Professional is the best version of SuSE that I have installed and used. Although it is an incremental release, it is far better and more intuitive than version 8.0; plus, it features KDE 3.1.1 (or GNOME and other windowing systems, if you prefer). OpenOffice.Org is an improvement over SuSE's previous inclusion of the outdated StarOffice 5.2. (Version 6.0 is the most current version.) In addition, OpenOffice.Org has matured into a fulll-featured, FREE office suite. SuSE's free on-line installation support seems to have improved over the last several months, although occasionally I have had a question unanswered. As usual, SuSE comes with a large collection of CD's containing "bonus software." If you have a DVD-ROM drive in your PC, it's much easier to use the DVD. Finally, SuSE detected all of my hardware without problems, simplifying installation and configuration.
Rating: Summary: Linux Is Ready for Desktop Review: SuSE linux Does a geat job bringing Linux to the desktop. Linux is a much better Operating System for the desktop. I have installed it on my laptop along with Windows XP. I have been using it for a year now (SuSE 8.0) and recently upgraded to 8.2. It does work much better than my MS windows. I rarely Use windows now. I highly recommand it.
Rating: Summary: Easy as pie... Review: SuSE Linux is the best looking, most feature-filled, easiest to use Linux I've ever used. I've tried Red Hat and Mandrake before going to SuSE and I've never been happier. No, I'm not a Linux expert by any means. I have a skill level in Linux equivelent to an intermidiate level user of Windows. If you're looking to make the leap to Linux as painlessly as possible, this is it. Let me warn you first: Linux is not Windows. It operates differently. You wouldn't expect a Mac to act like Windows, would you? Do you remember when you first learned to use Windows? It had a little bit of a learning curve, didn't it? Linux, too, has a learning curve. The difference is that you don't have a bunch of friends to get you up to speed as quickly. However, to use Linux, you must learn about Linux. Now, people that say they've never had issues getting hardware to work under Windows is either lucky or lying. How many times have you installed Windows, then tried to install drivers for something, only to find a nice nasty exclamation point in the Device Manager, telling you it isn't working? Yes, it happens often. The same goes for any breed of Linux. They do what they can to support as much as they can, but if you have a rather uncommon setup, chances are you'll have a few headaches. I, personally, have not had problems with either SuSE 8.1 Pro or SuSE 8.2 Pro. As far as Linux distributions go, I can't say enough about SuSE. It auto-detected everything on my machine and works without a hitch. I must say, after trying Mandrake and Red Hat Linux, I haven't had a nicer installation experience, ever. Now, there are some configurations you must do in order to get the most out of it, but that's Linux. For instance, to get HTML email, you must first configure KMail to use HTML in Settings->Configure KMail->Appearance->Profiles by selecting HTML, then you must go into your home folder and edit ~/.kde/share/config/kmailrc. You must find the section "[Reader]" and the line "htmlLoadExternal=false" and change the value to "true". Only then will you get images in HTML email. These are things you learn how to do when you use Linux. It's part of setting up your applications, sometimes. Again, this isn't Windows... Don't get scared, if you're new to Linux! Read on... Now, everyone has to do administration functions in all operating systems. SuSE provides YaST. Simply put, in the Linux world, it's the best there is. You do everything from getting hardware info, changing your hardware settings, installing software, getting online updates, backing up your system, configuring your firewall, and just about everything under the sun in one convenient, well laid-out application. It doesn't get any easier. You can do the majority of your administration needs from the graphical interface, just like Windows. Unlike Windows, there isn't a nasty Registry to deal with. Instead, Linux uses individual files that are easy to decipher and usually located in easy-to-find places like your home folder. So what if you do have trouble? Well, first off, SuSE offers installation support. However, I've never had to use it. The best way is to use the newsgroups (usenet) either with a reader like KNode in Linux, Outlook Express in Windows, or by going to groups.google.com. The newsgroup you'll need is alt.os.linux.suse. You'll get plenty of help there. I've yet to experience a problem they've not solved. Now, occasionally, you'll run into the life-hating geek that wants to push your buttons, but most are as helpful as they can be. Just don't leave a vague message. You must provide all necessary info about your problem to get a response. That is how I learned to get around in Linux. I'm probably no smarter than the average guy, so I'm quite confident that you can learn too. How much do I like Linux now that I'm more comfortable with it? Well, I have a Windows computer running XP Pro that's about a year old. Linux is on machine that is about 5 years old. Which one do I use 90% of the time? You guessed it, the Linux machine. Say goodbye to viruses and spyware and say hello to Linux - SuSE Linux!
Rating: Summary: Best ever Linux. Review: This so far the best Linux distro on the market. I am long time linux fan starting way back to Red Hat 5.1. It is very easy to install even for not computer savvy person. Graphics are beautiful. I had no problem with any peripherals. Everything was configured without a glitch. System is very stable (no lockups, and reboots yet). It comes with tons of software (5 CD's and 2 DVD's) burning CD's, playing MP3, Photo and movie edit, OpenOffice etc. Built in browser is Konqueror which is my favorite, but there is more to chose from. It is a nice alternative to WINDOWS.
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