Suse Linux Professional 9.1 review

Verdict:

Review Date: 19 Oct 2004

Price when reviewed: inc VAT

Reviewed By: Daniel Goscomb

Our Rating 4 stars out of 5

Sadly, the multimedia aspect is still lacking. SuSE's distribution will not play encrypted DVDs, although other vendors such as TurboLinux are now including support for this task.

Documentation has always been one of SuSE's strong points. As stated earlier, two printed manuals are included in the package. These will be useful during installation, but you may find yourself turning to the online documentation once the system is installed and running. The online documentation is plentiful and of a fairly high standard, although it may be a little confusing for new users in places. What's more, the integrated help system on the GNOME system is missing, which is another serious flaw in the company's GNOME support.

SuSE's Windows integration is much improved, with the ability to authenticate users against a Windows Domain Controller, or even a Samba server (as discussed in Linux Expert, Shopper October 2004). This allows businesses to use one central authentication system for all desktops rather than having one on each computer; see Advanced Windows on page 289 for more information on domains. SMB network shares can also be browsed easily from the KDE desktop.

SuSE Linux 9.1 Professional Edition is a well-designed and well-constructed distribution. It is easy to install, use and integrate with existing systems. A lot of time has been spent on the user interface, with great results. All applications, bar Mozilla, look alike, and the help system within KDE is second to none. If you are after a Linux distribution for the desktop, whether for a 32-bit or 64-bit machine, SuSE is a good choice. For servers, a more specific distribution such as Red Hat Enterprise Edition is better suited.

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