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 - Try out SuSE LinuxI couldn't decide if I should go with Debian or SuSE. I narrowed my choices down to these two. I ended up going with SuSE. This distribution is by far, one of the best. YaST2 is great, got me up and running very quickly. SuSE Linux recognized all my hardware, even my FireWire card - with a Via Chipset. Performance was great. I even tried out WINE, and I was able to run some Windows applications using it. I also like the ability to format your drive with either ext2, ext3, reiserfs, etc.. I decided to give each file system a try. If you want to install Linux, but are afraid to do so, just grab a copy of SuSE Linux. YaST2 will have you up and running in no time. Rating:  - Waste of your MonyI have installed the suse 8.1 personal edition and what did you find out,it has no installed compiler's like gcc and nasm,no linux source code i can not even install and compile software from other user's this is a shame since those compiler's are standard in a linux system,the yast2 installer can not even configure my X server correctly and did not even detect my hp s50 monitor since it was supported by other older distrobution's, this linux distro is a dissapointment and not worth the mony to spend,now i have to go and try to install all the developer software.what a pain. Rating: - Worth The Trouble!Slightly tougher to install than Windows. Definately more stable! Lots of cool stuff on the disks. Plenty of programs available. Short learning curve. Definately for anyone that wants a break away from Microsoft........ Rating: - Corrections to a December 26 reviewFirst, there are a couple of corrections I'd like to post regarding a review of Dec 26. The review has 2 major errors that I could not leave alone: - Power Management has changed. APM is the former package that supported power management (i.e. laptops). It is still included in SuSE for older hardware support. ACPI is the new kid on the block, and is installed on newer hardware. It does have a bug that, fortunately, can be resolved easily... - Star Office is no longer in SuSE. That is correct. The review fails to mention that Star Office is a Sun Microsystems' commercial product. It is based on an open source project named Open Office. The source code and functionalities are almost identical. Open Office 'IS' included in SuSE. So, in essence, all that changed from SuSE version 8.0 to 8.1 with that office application, is the name on the icon. Now, for my own review: SuSE Linux 8.1 offered me what I wanted, as did prior versions. Since I've upgraded to 8.1, I replaced Quicken for Windows with GnuCash. I had, during my 8.0 upgrade, replaced Photoshop 5.0 with Gimp. As for administering the application, don't take the YaST application lightly - it rocks!!! I rarely update or customize my Linux without it. RedHat, on the other hand, offered (I stopped using it at around version 7.0) sereral little applications to customize the installed base. The problem was to remember which did what! There are a couple of books bundled with SuSE 8.1. There were 3 in 8.0. In my opinion, they need to reduce it to one. There is some redundant content across the 2. They do work fine though. If you are neither willing to read some software literature and comfortable installing an operating system, then Linux is not for you just yet - if ever. There are a few decisions along the installation process that you must make. Windows, on the other hand, doesn't have as many because the options don't exist. i.e. type of system you want (server, half-server, client, password mgmt, disk layout, users, ...) Don't be scared, it only takes about 30 minutes on a computer that you wish to save nothing, or up to an hour or 2 if you wish to not remove your current Windows installation - mostly unattended installation procedures. I recommend SuSE to anyone that has installed Windows a couple (few) times in the past, or feels comfortable differenciating beteen an Operating System and an Application. Linux is a bit more complex for the new user, and a whole lot more useable for the experienced. I'd never switch back. Rating: - ATTENTION "LAPTOP" COMPUTER USERSI have just installed SUSE 8.1 on my laptop computer and I felt this might help someone else thinking of going LINUX. I had purchased "Red Hat Linux Personal 8.0" and installed it on my laptop. When I attempted to shut down the computer from Lunix I had to unplug the power cord and remove the battery. I filed a trouble report with Red Hat. Red Hat let my 30 day support service expire and emailed me the problem was closed. I installed SUSE Personal 8.1 and it not only allows me to boot to Windows XP (as did Red Hat) BUT IT POWERS OFF MY LAPTOP. If everything else works as well as the installation did, SUSE IS THE WAY TO GO.
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