SuSE Linux 8.0 Professional

We installed SuSE Linux 8.0 Professional on a Dell Inspiron 5000 notebook computer. While notebooks have traditionally given Linux more difficulty than desktop machines, this product installed smoothly on the testbed machine. Everything worked, including the sound card, the weird touchpad pointing device, the LCD screen, and our moderately old Xircom PCMCIA Ethernet card. The computer even went to sleep properly when we closed it (a feature that never worked right when Microsoft Windows 2000 ran on the same hardware).

The only problem we encountered was with the /etc/services file, which defines the assignments of well-known and registered TCP ports. A formatting problem--a few missing line breaks--caused the setup program for the IBM DB2 database (not included with this package, but installed as a test) to fail. The problem was easily found and fixed--a quick search of SuSE-related Internet newsgroups helped--and the IBM database server then installed and ran as intended. The online support for Linux is fantastic and should get you out of most any jam free of charge.

SuSE Linux 8.0 Professional is a great choice for people who want a painless installation of a feature-rich Linux suitable for desktop use. KDE 3.0 and StarOffice 5.2 make this a real productivity tool. --David Wall

Amazon.com Product Description
SuSE Linux 8.0 Professional is designed for easy implementation of servers, network solutions, security concepts, cross-platform data exchange, and multimedia systems. Many of these solutions are even preconfigured. SuSE 8.0's seven-CD-ROM package is an encyclopedic collection of some of the best solutions on Linux, giving system administrators a full tool chest. The YaST2 installer has been revised and enhanced with newly developed modules, and features improved and automated hardware detection.

With SuSE Linux you can read the data of all Windows systems. On Windows 95, 98, 98 SE, and Me, Linux can even write data, so the Windows partition can be used to store data you process in Linux. Whether you want to process image, text, Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files, the applications in Linux can read many formats of the Windows world. And with StarOffice 5.2 you can do more than word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations. It also provides a mail client, an HTML editor, a database, a scheduler, a drawing program, an image-processing application, and several other practical utilities.

SuSE Linux 8.0 is the first version to offer the KDE 3.0 desktop environment, which makes working, playing, and surfing even easier for newcomers and equips professionals with complex, adaptable tools. KDE 3.0 boasts a host of innovative features that help save time and money. Use smart menus, the extensive help functions, and the individual customization functionality. Configure your desktop according to your needs. Set up your own menus, the menu bar, background, and screen fonts.