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Summary: Haiku Review
Review: Build the frozen time.
Free the lizard within your
Yearly listening.
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Summary: The Linux you need!
Review: I have tried various Linux Distros on my computer for the last year or so now, but always gone quickly back to windows.Every distro has either tried to crash my system or fought with windows, and I never found one that I felt was worth the trouble. SuSE has finally ended the dry streak! It installed gracefully and easily alongside my Windows XP, set up its partitions without a problem and has been easy to use since then. The YaST utility for controlling and modifying settings is excellent and intuitive and will help you overcome most if not all of your hardware heartaches. The Professional edition includes 5 CDs and 2 DVDs for easier installation and has thousands of useful packages included. The GRUB boot loader works like a charm and didn't bother Windows XP a bit, something I can't say for RedHat.Also unlike RedHat, SuSE Linux WILL play mp3 files.
All in all this is a fine Distro, and will definitely a great place to start if you are still trying to find your way in the Linux world. Heck, I'm writing this from SuSE Linux!
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Summary: An easy change from Windows
Review: I just bought and installed Linux on my Dell laptop and couldn't be happier. I was having constant issues with my Windows XP to the point where I could not be on the computer for more than a few minutes before it locked up. Not being technically inclined, I was a little worried about installing Linux. However, the installation program recognized every hardware component and the printer. There was no problem with accessing the internet or having to download any drivers. I have not used the other companies versions of Linux, but SuSE worked just fine for my system. There has yet to be a problem with the system, and all my Word documents converted over. I completely removed Windows XP, so I don't how the partitioning or having both systems on the computer performs. But I am glad I made the change.
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Summary: SuSE 8.2: Good Product, Lousy Support
Review: I liked the SuSE 8.2 Linux, and I still use it until I upgrade to 9.0. However, I was very disappointed with their support. I was given conflicting answers, one person told me that they would give me special attention (because of a screw up on their end, and then I was given the third degree when I asked for the help. I hope that Novell will help them with Support.
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Summary: Finally Linux for home users
Review: I was looking forward for a good replacement for Windows and here it is. This version of Linux is a lot more stable than anything I have seen so far. The Linux environment is surely more friendly now than previous version of the operating system. Linux installation before could take hours if you didn't now what you were doing. But this new version is now more user friendly.
Rating:
Summary: Finally Linux for home users
Review: I was looking forward for a good replacement for Windows and here it is. This version of Linux is a lot more stable than anything I have seen so far. The Linux environment is surely more friendly now than previous version of the operating system. Linux installation before could take hours if you didn't now what you were doing. But this new version is now more user friendly.
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Summary: I'm a little disappointed
Review: I'm a longtime SuSE user. I've been using SuSE since version 5.x. The only reason I bought 8.2 pro was for the directory encryption, which according to the SuSE.com website is new for version 8.2. I couldn't find the documentation for it, so I posted a message to the support mailing list, and got not one single response. I eventually figured it out myself. It appears that this is nothing more than loopback encryption (which has been around since version 7.3) which if my assessement is correct, makes me wonder what else is renamed and not necessarily "new".
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Summary: Wish I could buy those Loki games!
Review: I've been a user of SuSE Linux since 7.3, but this is the first time I felt I had to really speak out for Linux. SuSE has done an INCREDIBLE job of making Linux end-user accessible. Out of the box, SuSE Linux supports a wide variety of hardware and includes a TON of applications, including the openoffice.org office suite (which is essentially "Star Office 6" without the database program.) Changing hardware is a snap! I've upgraded a video card and sound card and SuSE picked them up in a snap. It works just as well as Windows XP in that regard. And unlike Windows, there is no ridiculous "product activation" nonsense! As I change hardware often, I got very tired of dealing with Microsoft to reactivate something I legally purchased and paid for. Also, none of SuSE's included programs transmit private data back to some scheming, untrustworthy company. Just try that on your favorite monopoly's bloaty media player program for example... And the new KDE user interface is beyond fantastic! Text is no longer jagged, the interface is more intuitive than Microsoft's "Explorer" (more customizable, too), and the screen savers alone are worth the purchase of this OS. And provided you don't use the NTFS file system (though you can still use Windows NT, 2000 Pro, or XP Home/Pro), you can have Linux peacefully co-exist with Windows, if you come across a Windows app that won't run under any of Linux's emulation programs. (I use Win4Lin, Wine, and WineX) Games like Unreal Tournament 2003 and Return to Castle Wolfenstein are also made natively for Linux. And they run much faster under Linux than they do Windows. (this is the other reason why Windows is called "Windoze", "winbloat", et cetera.) This time I'm vocal, bumper stickers and all. SuSE is definitely worthwhile, especially if you're tired of those ... 'blue screens of death'. SuSE has done a smashing job. Now if I could find the Loki ports of several games I have in Windows format (like SimCity 3000, Civilization Call to Power, Descent 3, et cetera...)
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Summary: Best Linux Yet and Easy to Use
Review: I've used several linux distros over the years, and the SuSE 8.2 is the best I've seen, and by far the easiest to install and use. I use it dual-boot with Windows 2000 (install win2k first, then SuSE, use the GRUB boot manager). It took several hours to get win2k up and running, networked, etc. but only took about 45 mins to get SuSE fully installed and up and running. I didn't have a single install problem with SuSE, not one. For comparison, I did have several problems with the win2k install, and these were tricky to solve. Once installed, I found SuSE very easy to use. Its a far cry from the old days when you had to spend hours just to get basic programs installed and up and running. You do need to know a few basic *NIX skills like such as creating directories, changing permissions and group assignments, untarring/unzipping files, etc. but if you know these you'll be fine. The default KDE is a great desktop and is easy to use. Its not quite as easy as win2k, but very close. Most programs that are available on win2k are available for linux, but there are many more available for linux that are not available for win2k (and most are free for linux). Using YAST2, you can easily install programs that come with SuSe: just search for the package you want to install, click on the checkbox, and then install it. It will tell you what CD(s) to put in, and then you're off. The online updates for security patches, etc. worked just fine. I did download the newer Mozilla 1.4 and Netscape 7.1 browsers off the web, and found they worked flawlessly at the many sites I visited (including commerical sites and banking sites). The bottom line is that I found SuSE 8.2 almost as easy to use as Windows 2000, but with far more capability. Given the great programs like Star Office now available for linux, I find little reason to use ms windows these days. And I don't have to worry about all those viruses and nasty windows security problems that seem to pop up all the time with ms products. I would like to point out that whether linux works for a person or not depends on what hardware is being used (most linux problems are driver problems), so try to use common/widely available hardware when possible. Probably the people that give bad reviews here had some of this incompatible hardware.Also, there are still many programs that will run only in windows, and if you're one of those people who must use those programs, then you better stick with windows. You can run some windows programs on linux using WINE and VMWare, so you might want to test and see if that works for you.
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Summary: What Microsoft charges $$$$ for, yours for $$$
Review: If you have ever been frustrated by the Wall of Windows that Microsoft has erected to keep most users from actually making their computer work, SuSE is for you. The once immensely irritating installation process has been streamlined into painlessness, and SuSE has supplied a friendly means access to most of the configuration files with which you're likely to come in contact. It is stuffed with useful programs that do everything that MS Office, PhotoShop, Windows Media Player, etc., all do, but without the cost and much of the annoyance.( A special favorite is the Kmail program which addresses and fixes all the security problems with Outlook Express.) You can even save documents, say, in MS Word format, which Windows users can then open and use without knowing that it was not created in Word. Setting up of peripherals is smooth and painless. DSL and modem software all integrated, all ready to get hooked up to your phone or broadband modem. So, frankly, once you have this, the world is your oyster, as long as you don't mind having to dive for pearls occasionally. You can (and probably will have to) do a lot of tinkering, which can lead to much mystification. There are a lot of web sites (including SuSE's occasionally adequate support database) to help you, as well as the ever-grumpy cast of characters on the suse-e listserv mailing list, who, as a friend of mine observed, seem always to have "woken up on the wrong side of Starbucks this morning." And there are books, like all the stuff from O'Reilly (who seem to make money by printing and selling man pages) and the delightful "Underground Guide to Unix" by John Montgomery, which is what Dummies books would be like if they were useful. But the fact is that you CAN fix whatever it is, eventually. And you can find tons of useful programs on the web in case you feel you're missing something. (There are a few minor immovable annoyances: Linux has a thing about recording only to SCSI CD-R/W drives, or things that the computer thinks are SCSI, so welcome to the exciting and annoying world of SCSI emulation. I and my garden-variety CD drives have found ways to work with that, and so can you.) But it is as nothing compared to the immovable annoyances of life with Windows. Now all my Windows box is to me is a glorified GameBoy. Hooray! Buy this for the value. Buy this for the great feeling of satisfaction that comes with getting the problem solved, and keeping it solved. Buy this so you can be a truly independent computer user. Buy this because SuSE JUST DOES NOT CRASH. It's great that way.
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