“SuSE Linux 8.1 Pro is the latest Linux distribution release for the desktop and corporate users. With a wide variety of desktop applications, a sleek desktop, a dead easy to use control center and strong focus on security, this is one of the best Linux distros we’ve tried to date.” Read the review at RatedPC.
SuSE Linux 8.1 Professional Edition Review
About The Author
Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
Follow me on Twitter @EugeniaLoli
I’m glad that they at least MENTIONED the great documentation SuSe comes with. however, it would of been better if the reviewer unfolded the poster to reveal the cool looking clock and how big it is.
I also learned a few things. I never even knew about YAST’s etc/systemconfig tool. It’s fabulous. I can even search for a option I want to change which makes finding what your looking for much easier. I also don’t need tor ead a 10 page configuration script jsut to edit 1 or 2 variables. For example, I was able to disable authentication for YAST very quickly. I’m the only one who uses this computer, I ahve a hardware firewall and SuSE’s excellent firewall. Afterall this only affects YAST.
“With SuSE Linux Professional 8.1, you will get every application you will ever need for desktop publishing, productivity, multimedia, fun and education.”
Geez, somebody should rip this guy a new asshole for even thinking something like that, much less saying it.
But then, it gets worse …
“Of course, SuSE also comes with all the sound applications anybody ever would need.”
Ok, I will be the first to admit that Linux has its strong points and is definitely better than Windows at some (and maybe even a lot) of things, but I swear .. this kind of blind zealotry does nobody any good. Does this guy really believe what he is saying? People who say things like the above make me think that a) They are not and never have been power users or b) They’ve been in Linux land for so long that they have forgotten what real multimedia applications are, and I’m speaking in this case of the sound editor, Audacity (pictured in the screenshot). Yeah, it’s already, but Cool Edit Pro or Sound Forge it ain’t.
Also, I know there’s now a clone of Rebirth out there, but if there are open source alternatives to Reason/Fruity Loops and and the Native Instruments soft synths, I must have missed them.
People want to talk about how wonderful Linux is, but when you start talking about feature-for-feature comparisons of DESKTOP applications that don’t involve IE vs. Mozilla, they immediately switch the subject to DRM and its ilk or go off on how great Apache is.
It seems that Eugenia is (as far as I can tell) the only person on the Internet capable of writing an even moderately-unbiased review of a Linux distro.
“Yes, Linux has all the apps you’ll ever need!”
Yeah, and I suppose hell jsut froze over too.
“With SuSE Linux Professional 8.1, you will get every application you will ever need for desktop publishing, productivity, multimedia, fun and education.”
“Of course, SuSE also comes with all the sound applications anybody ever would need.”
In both of the examples you used I think you’re
deliberately misconstruing what the man’s saying
in the review. He doesn’t claim that LINUX ‘has
all the apps you’ll ever need!’ i think he’s trying
to touch on the fact that out of all the distros
SuSE seems to give its users the biggest selkection
of Linux applications, whhich as compared and
contrasted with say Lindows for an example makes
SuSE a heck of a deal!
BTW: When will we ever see a major distro using
Xpde for its window manager? No that I’m saying
making a Microsoft clone is the way to go, but
if people insist on immitation..
If you read the review properly, I never compared it to Windows. However, for their targeted consumer, SuSE has pretty much covered all the software needed.
“If you read the review properly, I never compared it to Windows”
I never said you did. I only brought up Windows once in my reply to demonstrate that I don’t hate Linux and recognize its strong points .. I just hate when people (intentionally or not) misrepresent Linux to make it look like it can fill roles that it obviously can’t.
I probably woudn’t have commented on it, but the whole bit about the sound apps really struck a nerve with me.
“However, for their targeted consumer, SuSE has pretty much covered all the software needed.”
Well, I think there’s a big difference between saying:
“However, for their targeted consumer, SuSE has pretty much covered all the software needed.”
– and –
“With SuSE Linux Professional 8.1, you will get every application you will ever need for desktop publishing, productivity, multimedia, fun and education. “
Nice review, I have a better understanding about the YAST’s etc/systemconfig tool as well as other configuration issues.
Reza Pakdel, would you consider doing an in-depth tweaking guide as a follow-up to your decent “Linux On Desktop” article? I would like to dig in more about font and theme setup on various apps, plus a focus on making consistent outlook among various desktop managers/environments and applications. It will be very helpful for many Linux starters out there, myself included.
agreed.
linux as an audio workstation….GONG!!!! no way jose.
but i would not buy a wintel system either.
for audio….it has to be mac.
it just works 😉
all in all i thought it was a good review, that was focused on the overall usability and the installation of the OS at hand.
i really liked the discussion on yast… having been using 8.0 for the past few months i must agree that it is very intuitive and powerful.
and… i must agree that it does come with almost all of the apps that your avaerage desktop user will ever need. and, of course for some of us, it doesn’t… but then again what pre-packaged os has all of the apps that you would ever need.
In a past article, it was mentioned that there is no AutoCAD clone for Linux.
According to p.3 of the current article, SuSE does include “AutoCAD”
Or you can try VariCAD (trial version):
http://www.varicad.com/
There are also FreeCAD and other commecial Linux CAD tools out there. Seriously Maya and Softimage are also available on Linux so I think CAD and 3D apps shouldn’t be a problem. I would forsee Blender will be bundled in future Linux distributions as well.
Thanks for your review! SuSE never ceases to amaze me. They sort of act like they don’t care that much about the workstation/desktop, yet they always delver. Yes, YaST2 is very powerful. I’ve been using it since 7.0.
After looking at the article it shows a PovRay session not an AutoCad session – Big Difference.
I have been waiting for Autocad to be available for Linux or Bsd so that I can kiss MS goodbye, but alas my hopes have been dashed again. There are a few Cad Programs that run under Linux but none are near the equivalence of AutoCad. I have tried them all.
There is a Microstation for Educational purposes only edition that runs on Linux, but it is not licensed for commercial use.
I have even written to Autodesk and asked about a future Linux or Unix version and have been told that Windows is the only platform they plan on supporting for their products. Shame, I will have to hold on to my old Windows O/S a while longer.
You are going to be a target of Genaldar. If you read up previous threads about Mac vs. PC, well, you could see why he/she hates the Mac so much (technically, of course).
For me, on the surface, I would rather go with Wintel rather than the Mac if I’m into professional audio stuff. Sure…. no new Cubase releases, big deal. Most, if not all, of the audio-related magazines and websites didn’t quite like that piece of software….
Of course, right now I’m talking out of my ass. I wouldn’t be suprise if this gets moderated down for being OT 🙂
AutoCAD has a monopoly in the CAD business, and no they didn’t twist arms to get there. All the CAD people (3, actually) I know have tried AutoCAD altenatives, and never liked them. Getting AutoCAD on Linux would do a lot.
But anyway, thanks for enlightening me on the existance of yet another CAD app…
I love 8.1, but with the timing of RH8 and Mandrake9. SuSE should have considered holding up 8.1 to include the very soon to be released KDE3.1. In my opinion that would seal the deal for SuSE just rocking RH8 and MD9.
“Of course, SuSE also comes with all the sound applications anybody ever would need.”
I believe that the reviewer is looking at Suse from a user perspective and not from the view of someone recording music for a living.
“I believe that the reviewer is looking at Suse from a user perspective and not from the view of someone recording music for a living.”
Well, he did say ANYBODY, did he not?
AutoCAD has a near monopoly only in 2-D CAD.
In 3-D, SolidWorks, ProEngineer, Catia and others are very popular.
If any of these guys release their software for Linux, I would buy it tomorrow. And if they changed their drawing file formats from proprietary to XML, I would buy it today.
Why tommorow, why not today? 😀
Besides, in the CAD business, SolidWorks, ProEngineer and Catia have way less market share overall compared to AutoCAD. While they can be considered as their own market, but combined, AutoCAD is still a monopoly (it has more than 70% of the market share).
Outta curiousity, has anybody noticed strange setups of CDroms under Suse?
The way my setup is, is I have 1 hard drive on my primary, and a dvd drive as master/cd writer as slave on my secondary. For some reason, Suse detects my DVD drive as hdc like normal, but the kernel recognises it as sr0 ( it gets detected as part of scsi emulation) and the writer as sr1. End result being, once inside the OS, Suse links my cd to hdc and the writer to sr0. I mount my DVD and magically my CDR gets mounted too :/ Consequently, I can’t burn any cd’s by default until I figured this out… And I’m not sure it’s all working right yet.
Plus my Lexmark z22 printer doesn’t get setup during install. It detects it alright, but it just points me to Lexmarks site to download drivers (which only support hooking up throuhg the LPT port.. BLEH. I’m USB now).
Plus, it didn’t set my wheel mouse during the install. It said it did, but it didn’t. Lying little… 😛
AND, despite all the reviews, I’m the only lucky one to not get the java plugin for Moz to work.
I’m kinda depressed now, seeing I paid the $80 to buy the darn thing. From Redhat, to Mandrake , to Gentoo, they’ve all setup all my hardware right. Suse has been my worst experience install wise so far. They may be all little things but they add up. Oh well, for $80 bucks I’m FORCING myself to fix it, damn it all it’s gonna work
(ps… 7 CD’s and no XINE?!?! I can see no d4d & d5d , but not the base program?!?! Tons of Xmms plugins, but no Mad?!?! Bleh.. excuse me, I have some fixin’ to do)