Customer Reviews

Suse Linux Professional 9.2

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

First, for those of you who wonder if your PC can run SuSE, go to ftp://ftp.gtlib.cc.gatech.edu/pub/suse/suse/i386/live-cd-9.2 and download either SUSE-Linux-9.2-LiveCD-KDE.iso or SUSE-Linux-9.2-LiveCD-KDE.iso. You can burn these to a CD and then boot into a live SuSE system. Nothing will be installed, and it is a great litmus test to see if SuSE 9.2 will work as you expect on your target system. If it works as expected, then purchase 9.2 Pro and install it on your system.

Second, keep in mind that Linux is not Windows. It never has been and it never will be. If you want the features of Windows with the security of Linux, but you want it in a turn-key system, then buy a Mac. With a Mac you get ease of use as well as key Microsoft applications such as Word. The only problem with this is you are buying both hardware and software.

Third, today's distributions want contemporary hardware. If your system is running Windows 9x, then there's a good chance you'll have problems installing SuSE 9.2. The same thing can be said, however, for WinXP, especially with service pack 2.

Finally, with Linux, you need to know what you're doing and you need to have a real reason to change. If you are happy with your Windows system, don't buy any Linux. If you're having problems with your Windows installation make sure it isn't something that can be easily fixed. If you're a casual user, then by all means be very careful with Linux. It will bite you. But if you have a real need for a feature or features found in Linux, and you're comfortable with the idea of fixing a problem that may show up, go ahead and install SuSE 9.2. I run it and I'm quite happy with it. I would be more than happy to help others install and run it as well. But I always make sure that folks know exactly what they're getting into. I'm a OS pragmatist, not an Linux evangelist.

Those who complain, need to pay attention to what they are doing in YAST installer. It is NOT difficult, but, can be a bit confusing, expecially if you are used to a different distribution's installer, such as Mandrake Linux. For those with nVidia cards (including Quadros), you need to be online, as getting the drivers is part of the online update section of the installation. YAST won't delete partitions, unless you let it do so. I have 4 Operating Systems on my computer, and I installed it without deleting any partitions.

There is alot of software it does not install by default. Same with Mandrake Linux Powerpack. Simply select detailed selection and click to your heart's content.

The only negative I can find so far (I have to test k3b) is that SuSE still does not include Mozilla Messenger (I'm partial to Messenger).

SuSE 9.2 Professional is slick, fast, and very responsive. Better than Mandrake 10.0 Community Edition Powerpack. I bought a CD set of 9.2 Pro for evaluation, and I think it is worth buying the boxed set.

Charles Bradshaw

Personal knows, I really like SUSE. It was my first Linux distro , it was my learning tool, etc. With that in mind, I'm proud to be able to review SUSE 9.2 PROFESSIONAL prior to its release to the general public.

SUSE Linux Professional 9.2, as the Novell-Suse Distribution is known, has updated much of the distributions core technology. This includes the new Linux kernel now 2.6.8 from version 9.1's version 2.6.4. In addition, 9.2 has shifted the distribution from Xfree86 to the X.Org Foundation's X Window System.


If you are a KDE user, you will be happy to know that SUSE has upgraded to version 3.3. GNOME users are not quite as fortunate as version 2.8 was released in September and the timing did not work for this release. 9.2 PRO has GNOME version 2.6. While not the newest, this is still a very feature filled release.


SUSE Linux Pro 9.2 also has new redesigned interfaces to make the setup of network services like Samba, DNS, and DHCP easier than before.


Other advancements in this distro include; GIMP 2, a comprehensive image processing and graphics creation tool, INKSCAPE, a new vector graphics application that is advertised to outperforms all other Linux alternatives, Nvu, a Web authoring system that combines Web file management and easy -to-use WYSIWYG Web-page editing, Open Office 1.1.3 and a host of other cutting edge programs.


An area that Linux, in general, has needed to improve upon has been WIRELESS. Version 9.2 Pro now offers "Bluetooth" wireless support including automatic recognition of Bluetooth-devices via the YaST configuration and admin tool. Bluetooth configuration is simple using YaST making it easy to connect to and move between wireless LANs (WLAN) and other network connections. There is even a suspend-the-disk feature that makes it easy for laptop users who require increased mobility.


WHAT ABOUT INSTALL AND USE?


Those that have installed SUSE before are familiar with the Green Screen. The new SUSE 9.2 Pro has a very pleasant blue and grey screen, but beyond that, the installation is as smooth as always. Couple of questions, auto partitioning (I always turn the entire hard drive over to the distro) and the installer goes to work. Not unlike every SUSE install, after Disc 1 has been installed, the installer reboots. A couple of disc changes and you are ready to boot into your new system.


Hardware detection is excellent. SUSE 9.2 PRO correctly detected all my hardware including my old HP printer and did the full set-up without problems.


I booted into KDE and was quite pleased with the speed, quality of fonts and graphics. Using the Suse icon, I went to the Control Center and selected a screen saver and then checked Internet to see what was available for browsing. KONQUEROR was my only choice, so I went to YaST and selected INSTALL SOFTWARE. With YaST, if you have never used it, you can search for software in a number of ways. I chose to enter Mozilla into the search block and it came up with Mozilla and a host of plugins. Also offered in this distro is Mozilla's Firefox.


After install, I checked to see what plugins had been installed, as I have a couple of sites on the Web where I go to play games! No JAVA! Not a problem, I made a directory and downloaded. Installing java in SUSE is a little different from other distributions. If you are using a Red Hat, Mandrake or a Debian distro, you can go to /usr/lib. Find Mozilla and install into the plugin directory. SUSE uses /opt/mozilla. If you are creating a simlink, your path to Mozilla becomes:


/opt/mozilla/lib/plugins


Once the symlink had been created, it was off to the Web to give it a spin. The system worked flawlessly and I noted how quickly the system responded to commands.


Sound would be the next check. I went to one of the Web music services and selected a genre. Immediately, I had music playing using Real Time Player 10.0.


So far, so good. The next test would be logging into my home network. The network consists of multiple LINUX machines in the Lab and a couple of WINDOWS XP machines in the household. The Windows machines are both wired and wireless (although it doesn't matter). Log in went flawlessly.


First look appeared as expected...EXCELLENT! For those that had fears when SUSE was purchased by Novell, this distribution should eliminate any doubts that SUSE is going to continue bringing an excellent product, featuring many cutting edge programs. Their release schedule is aggressive with a new distro planned for every 6 months.

Suse's YaST installation system correctly identified all my hardward and I was up in no time.

My AMD 64 bit processor SCREAMS on this 64 bit Linux Install.

All these other people posting as "programmers" and "senior programmers" must be the worst programmers ever if they can not get this install to work. It's a no brainer.

Suse is gonna crush Microsoft. Their buggy, insecure kludgeware is over. All the included Office Applications are as easy to use as MS office, and they're free!

As soon as Open GL can replace DirextX, there will be no reason for windows anymore.

I installed SUSE 9.2 on my Dell Inspiron 4000 laptop. It is Super Easy to Install. YaST utility lets you easily configure devices and install/install software so easily. Very straight forward. I installed my Microsoft wireless card (MN-520) and set up a home network. My SUSE machine is my favourite among all the machinces I have now. Highly recomended.

I have been using Windows XP (32-bit) for a while on my 64 bit AMD Athlon based laptop. I did not realize that I have seriously under-utilized my laptop's horse power until I installed SuSE 9.2 Professional for AMD64. I just fell in love with it. I have very little Linux experience and despite the fact that Linux is for geeks, SuSE has just made it so simple and easy to install and use even for casual computer users.

I tried the Live DVD version for sometime and was so overwhelmed that I did not think twice getting rid of Windows XP altogether. Yes, I now have a Linux-only machine. The installation was a breeze with YaST. All my hardware except the built-in wireless LAN adapter were recognized. It took just over 40 minutes for a standard install. Then I tried YaST Online Update. It automatically found the mirror nearest to my locale and listed the updates it had. All I had to do was select the patches and Finish.

The base installation media did not contain graphics driver for my nVidia graphics card. So I had to google a bit to configure 3D support. It was simple but, I didn't knew. I'm a newbie Linux user. Anyway I got it right and it worked flawlessly. But my wireless adapter still doesn't work. After little more googling, I found that my wireless adapter cannot talk in 64 bits and so, I have to wait till the vendor releases one.

Next, time to explore some of the applications I need for my day-to-day tasks. I'm quite impressed with the office tools and multimedia support. My USB flash drive was detected and I was able to open and edit some of the MS office documents I had backed up in the drive. Open office had all the bells and whistles I commonly use. I played and listened to some of the MP3 songs I have downloaded. The sound was husky initially, but after little tweaking and tuning with KMix, it was just perfect. However, my DVDs and VCDs did not play out-of-the box. With a little help from the SuSE support forum, I was able to install and run Mplayer. I was really surprised at the range of codec Mplayer supports. It played virtually all formats ranging from mpg1, mpg2, .avi, .wmv, xvid and even .mov files. My VCDs and DVDs worked just perfect. It truly is a damn good player (http://www.mplayerhq.hu). Mozilla firefox is cool for browsing internet. It also has Konqueror but as for now I'm sticking to the much familiar firefox. 3D (OpenGL) is great for games. It has Kino for DV capturing and editing, K3B for burning CDs/DVDs, digiKam for managing pictures from digital camera and much much more.

Another thing remarkable is the performance. SuSE has everything I wanted and that I was doing with Windows. It does it better and remarkably faster and smoother. Every bit of it is customizable. My laptop really does scream.

SuSE 9.2 Pro truly is a kick-ass product. Go get it and forget [ctrl] [alt] [del] forever.

Although SUSE 9.2 appears to be a well designed product with many useful features, I'm unable to get it to function as a DHCP client on my network, so I can't get onto the Internet or access any local network resources. There is perhaps some subtle tweak here that might get it to work but after spending an hour on the telephone with one of SUSE's support staff neither he nor I was able to find it.

After reviewing some of the posts on various Linux forums, networking problems appear to be common with this release. Similar problems were not experienced by posters with 9.1. This is a pretty serious failing and I strongly recommend that you stay away from this product until these issues are resolved.

I agonised over moving from MS Widows to Linux for a number of months. I researched a number of distributions and read all the articles. In the end I choses SuSE 9.2 professional because:
AMD64 support
Lots of applications [over 1000 I'm told] already on the disk
Ease of installation
Support
Backing by Novel

What I found was that the installation was almost too easy - I expected to learn a little bit about Linux as it asked me questions - in the end it just ran like a dream. All my hardware, ADSL and printer were correctly identified. It literally worked straight out of the box. The only real problem is that you can be a bit overwhelmed with all the free applications that come packaged with SuSE Professional - I could choose from: 2 different desktops [I choose KDE], 3 full functional Office suites, 4 drawing packages, etc. etc.

I know it shouldn't make any difference but the desktop [KDE] looks attractive. I am usually more interested in functionality and utility than good looks but the desktop is very easy on the eye and is organised well.

The SuSE Yast application is very good and makes the whole thing very easy. If you don't want to learn Linux and just run applications, watch DVD's and work on the WEB; then SuSE will make it very easy [and save a heap of money at the same time].
If you actually want to learn Linux then you should get a pocket guide and play around in the Linux shell.

Fine product , nothing less than XP , i had one on my laptop so i decided to buy a copy for my desctop , installation is just click and enter some text , nothing different from the
windows installation. If you ever decided to give Linux a chance Suse is right for you.

SuSE Linux is the oldest commercial distro of Linux, and they prove again why people are willing to pay for something that they can essentially get for free. SuSE 9.2 Pro puts Fedora Core, Mandrake, Slackware, Debian and the others to shame in every aspect.

Hardware support I found to be excellent, there was nothing that didn't detect or work correctly. YaST made it easy to choose what to install and they give you tons of options, more than WindowsXP could ever dream of giving you.

While i'm not a big fan of Gnome, Novell makes it look pretty good and surprisingly nice to use. KDE is in it's natural and beautiful state and the easy of use is pretty good.

Don't buy into the people who write 1-star reviews of this product claiming that SuSE destroyed all their data on install. If you don't know what you're doing you should not use this, period. Hold nobody accountable for yourself if you screw things up.

Fantastic distro, perfect for anybody learning to use Linux/UNIX. You won't be disappointed!