SuSE 9.3 Professional

Novell released an update to their SuSE OS late last month. The update included numerous system updates and new versions of all the included software. We’re going to take a look at SuSE Professional 9.3, to see if it’s worthy of a purchase or upgrade.

For those unaware of what SuSE brings to the Linux table, here is an official note:

Whether you’re new to Linux or you use it daily, SUSE LINUX Professional 9.3 delivers the features you need most for home computing and networking. SUSE LINUX Professional also includes more than 1,000 of the world’s leading open source applications. From established solutions like Firefox and OpenOffice.org to “first looks” at emerging technologies like Beagle and Xen, these applications are a real value. You simply open the box, run the installation program and start using Linux for everything you do. Choose the default set of applications or customize your computing environment. It’s truly that easy!

I personally have been using SuSE Linux since version 7.0, and even though I have used numerous distros, it has been the only one to keep me. When Novell acquired SuSE in 2003, I had gut feelings that it would harm the OS more than help, because many companies tend to do that to products (Winamp anyone?). However, it’s been the opposite, I find. The OS continues to only get better, more secure, and more feature packed.

So who would use SuSE? Whenever people who’ve never used Linux before, ask me which distro to try first, I always recommend SuSE, because of it’s ease of use. Unlike some competitors though, such as Linspire, they don’t make it so completely idiot-proof, so you still have lots of opportunity to learn the OS as you go along. They don’t take away any of the OS potential, so even *Nix veterans will enjoy the OS, but for veterans, it may be more refined than it needs to be. After reading the review, you should have a good idea of whether SuSE is for you.

I primarily use Linux on my notebook, and the entire review will be based from my use there. For the review, I completely wiped the hard drive, which previously housed SuSE 9.1 Professional, and started fresh. So let’s hop to it.