Average Rating: 
Rating: - Pleased Again
Once again SuSE delivers yet another product that I have looked forward to receiving and with little to no dissapointment. Personally I don't care for the YaST (which is YaST2) for the command line version, but overall very satisfied with this product. The thing I like best about SuSE is that it has the ability to hold your hand if you are on new ground and stays out of your way if you know what you are doing.
SuSE continues to be one of my favorite distro's that sticks to what sold me on it the first time I gave SuSE a go.
If you are teetering on the edge of whether or not to buy this you really should try it. SuSE provides enough add-on value that I doubt you will be unhappy with your purchase. Run it lean and mean or slow and bloated, you do have a choice, you do have control.
Rating:  - Impressive
I just installed SuSE Linux 8.0 Professional--my first Linux installation. Pluses: (1) This distribution includes a fantastic number of applications (2) The Konqueror browser/file manager is excellent; better than anything in Windows, (3) The KDE desktop environment overall is excellent, though it takes a little getting used to, (4) YaST2 graphical setup tool is also excellent, and pretty easy to use (5) my CD-R and CD-RWs worked fine, completely compatible with disks from Windows (6) multi-tasking (running multiple applications at the same time) is far superior to MS Windows 2000 Professional (XP is no better as far as I know, but I haven't used it). Minuses: (1) I had a little trouble setting up my modem (by the way Winmodems won't work at all-these are not real modems because of some of the work is done by the CPU under Windows) (2) The fonts aren't as pretty as Windows. They are not anti-aliased (gray shading applied to the edges of the fonts to make them look smoother); This is supposedly fixable for TrueType fonts (none of the common TT fonts are included in the installation because they are not free), but I have not been able to yet. You will also need to go out of your way to install TrueType Arial and Times New Roman fonts in your system if you want them. (3) When I reconfigured my video incorrectly, it booted without the graphical interface. I needed to run a utility (SaX2) to fix it. This is mentioned in the FAQs printed on the cardboard CDs holder, so it wasn't to hard to find the solution (4) SuSE Linux is not able to shut down my computer through software, I'm having to hit the button on the computer to turn it off. So there are a few quirks, but even without considering that PCs and virtually all peripherals are built only with Windows in mind, it works extremely well. This distribution is quite inexpensive for what you get--well worth buying (rather than downloading) because of the ease of installation, and you also get 90 days of free support (I haven't used it though so cannot attest to it) in case you have problems installing it. I also like the idea of open-source (free) software, and not promoting propriety operating systems.
Rating:  - Not quite ready yet....
Suse is one of the fastest growing distros and with this release, it sports some of the latest features that the linux community is looking for--but it comes with a price: it still has some bugs.For instance, Suse shipped its 8.0 release without adequate support for pcmcia cards which has caused crashes on start ups. Also, the system seemed to hang (at least in KDE) when I installed it on my machine. Some services, which were configured automatically with Red Hat 7.3 , had to be started manually under Suse 8.0. Just another example of the little things not being done right. A good point: the aesthetic aspect of the 8.0 release is nothing to be sneezed at. With the choice of background images combined with the look of KDE 3.0, the look is every bit as slick as Mac or Windows on their best days. I also believe that Suse 8.0 marks the beginning of the end of Windows' dominance on the desktop. A big statement, I know. Foolhardy? Not at all. If Suse gets its act together and fixes the bugs and some of the interface glitches, it could become one of the top distros along with Red Hat and Mandrake, and be poised to go after the desktop with features out of the box that Mac and Windows users could only dream of (or pay additional $$$ for). All in all, if you are thinking of purchasing this product and can wait until the 8.1 release (when the bugs will no doubt be fixed) then wait; otherwise, if you get the 8.0 version be sure and get Suse Office Professional on sale at Suse's web site. Reasonably priced, Suse Office Professional includes bug fixes for 8.0 as well as Star Office 6. Three stars for right now...hopefully, the product improves in the mean time.
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