Customer Reviews

SuSE Linux 8.0 Professional

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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.

I've read a few reviews and I played with RH and Mandrake ISO's but decided to try SuSe and glad I did it was fast painless and easy even for a beginner like myself.

One review seemed like he was a M$ rep the way he bashed it and another reviewer sung it praises as if it was the holy grail.

If you have a desire to play in the linux arena this is the distro, Hands down the best and I would say just as good if not better than XP

I am a recent convert to Linux. Having used SuSE 8.1 Pro on a PC and Laptop. I love the look and feel, the ease of installation, and the administration (YaST2) tools. I've installed it on my laptop and PC. And it is great. Like the ability to select what packages are installed. Like all the available utilities, tools and accesories. Gives my old PC new life. Thought I needed a new PC. Turned out, I just needed a new OS.

However, I am extremely disappointed that SuSE does not support RAID. Am unable to install it successfully on a small server with RAID. The installation allows me to select and install the AACRAID drivers into the kernel. But, the boot hangs. When I contacted SuSE, they informed me they don't support RAID.

Again, great product for the PC/Laptop. If you want Linux on a server using RAID, try another distrobution.

SuSE 8.0 is, in my opinion, an extremely easy to use Linux distribution and a real viable alternative to using Windows. It comes with tons of software and I was able to get it up and running on both my home-built PC and my Compaq laptop without any major issues. It even does little things like pre-installing java, realplayer, acrobat reader -- even Windows doesn't do that! It correctly identified and configured my HP deskjet printer, my nvidia video card, my Kodak digital camera, my cable modem, and all my other hardware. If you get stuck, the number of helpful resources out there is tremendous and you will find really nice people willing to help you along the way. SuSE 8.0 is really not that expensive when you think about it (compare it to a Windows "upgrade" price which is more than 2x the cost of SuSE). When installing, you can have it dual-boot with your pre-existing Windows installation so you can continue to use Windows as you learn Linux. Combine SuSE 8.0 with the *AWESOME* new Star Office 6.0 and you can do just about anything in Linux that you would otherwise do in Windows. Besides, it's really all about the freedom to choose. Oh, and one more thing: I got a 60% increase in my video card framerates when playing Quake III in Linux than I got in Windows. Wow! Anyway, give it a spin -- worst case scenario, you're out a few bucks and you can always remove it from your hard drive. Best case scenario, you'll enter a new world where you get to choose what goes on your computer and where operating systems don't cost 1/2 the value of your hardware.

Recieved mine through the mail about a week ago and have been using it on my workstation (server is next to upgrade, was running SuSE 7.3 and the only thing to have knocked that puppy down was a powercut after 90 days). The old command line yast has been removed and the new yast2 has been improvedeven more beyond the 7.3 version.

KDE 3 is of course a very nice desktop environment and Gnome 1.4.1 is also included (amongst a choice of many more window managers should you be so inclined to want them, such as blackbox).

Overall its great, sure has a few bugs, but no showstoppers. Installation is a breeze, compared to WinXP it is actually easier.

The only thing between Linux on the desktop is not so much the range off applications, but licensing from large companies that prevent software like SuSE to be pre-installed.

The coolest thing about Suse 8.0 is its YaST installer. Whether u r doing a dual boot install or a only SuSE install, this new version of the installer is awesome. If you are a new user the 3 click installation is for you, and if you are power user u can customize the installation to ur hearts content.

I have installed SuSE 8.0 on 3 PCs and a Notebook. All thses systems have quite varid hardware configs. And I can say this that SuSE 8 has very impressive hardware support. Almost all the hardware was auto detected at installation. SuSE 8.0 is my de facto OS both at work and at home. At home I upgraded from SuSE 7.3 and at work I installed it over Mdk 8.2.

Installation was easy, now let move on to user experience. SuSe 8.0 comes with Kde 3.0, it has a lot of fancy apps and a lot of nice eye candy ( with nice anti-aliases fonts). Even Gnome 1.4 in Suse 8.0 is really pretty to look at and most apps are stable.

I use the Pro edition. The sheer number of apps bundled with it, takes care of all my need. I use Open Office for editing documets ( at work every one else uses MS Office, for me Open Office is a real boon). Mozilla and Opera for browsing. Gaim for chatting with my friends on Yahoo, MSN, ICQ.... I use Evolution for accessing the MS Exchange server at work for my mails. I use samba for sharing and mounting shared dirs with my collegues using NT systems. There are also plenty of games bundled with it.

Coming to stability. I have my desktop at work running Suse 8.0 since the end of April without a single crash or any downtime.

I did have some problems with my desktop at home, my 5.1 channel sound card was not playing the rear channels. Fortunately I had it fixed in an hour or so.

Configs of my desktop at home: Athlon 1.1G, 512MB SDRAM, SB Live 5.1 sound card, RLT 8139 Ethernet Card, Geforce 3 video card. The desktop at office is a DELL Optiplex Gx110, my laptop is a Compaq Presario 702US.

Personally I'd highly recomend SuSE 8.0.

Having been a long time user of Linux(5 years), with experience in several other Linux distributions, I would have to say that SuSE is the best overall distribution. It provides a very good balance of both Desktop and Server administration tools. Maintaining your system is a breeze with their YaST tool, and SuSE provides an excellent support database for most problems that occur. An excellent Firewall is included, along with Office (although you may want to consider StarOffice 6.0), Multimedia, CD-Burning, Database, and thousands of applications, and if you have a DVD drive installation is a breeze. The KDE 3.0 desktop manager is simply the best there is.

The only problem I had, was with my USB mouse not working upon booting on occasion, which was easly fixed after scanning SuSE's online support database.

I have used dual booting professional Linux / Legacy Windows98 multi-partition computers for some years now and have experience with multiple versions of linux and I must say that this distribution is among the elite, It comes with the expected vast array of useful applications including stock yet fairly powerful word processing including StarOffice 5.2. are Menu selectable both before initial install and afterwards with an intelligent installer program. Additionally it also has a version of the RPM installer (Red Hat Package Manager). KDE is the default GUI and version 3.0 is outstanding. Internet use is outstanding with mozilla or other included browsers. E-mail rocks with several selectable programs.
Although SuSE 8.0 is a version for the serious, it is also aimed at the intelligent novice. It will make your windows partitions (yes C and D partions if they exsist) available to you on the desktop (without command line use) while running on the linux side which is very handy for moving your files while migrating away from or just incorporating the other legacy OS files that you have created. It will also make available to you other non used partitions with other distributions of linux if they exist. If you are experienced, this Linux version will fill the bill for serious use, and if you are new to linux this version is among the best selection for the intelligent user of computers in general. Migration into a better world of computing with Linux is possable for all.

I have used both the SuSE 7.2, and 7.3 distro and was impressed
enough to purchase the 8.0 Professional. Initially, I had
problems with the installation when started from the DVD,
complaining that it couldn't read the packages from the disk. I
then tried the CD-ROM installation disks and the process went
much more smoothly. The only problem I had with the install
was that it could not detect my graphics accelerator which I had
to configure myself.

This is a good distribution and it's easy enough for a new Linux
user to install. I gather from the other reviews that the
installation problems vary. Just make sure to check that your
hardware is compatible or download the needed drivers before
installing. SuSE has built a good product but it still needs
fine tuning.

As far as tech support goes, don't bother. You'll get more info
by simply joining a users group.