Suse is a Linux distribution with a rich heritage that's seen a variety some changes since it was acquired by Novell.

Version 10 sees a simplification of the range and it's now aimed at the desktop user as well as server environments.

For those wanting to try it out, an evaluation version can be downloaded. As with this edition, it is supplied on either one DVD or five CDs. Both version are supplied in the box along with a manual.

Installation is straightforward, although the partitioning tool is not as helpful as the graphical tool in Mandriva. All the information is still there, but it's harder to process.

The installation wizard requires a choice between KDE or Gnome desktop environments, although it is possible to opt to install both. This is still very much a personal preference and now most applications work with both.

Suse Linux 10 comes with some commercial software already installed, including Adobe Reader 7 and Real Player.

During testing, it was possible to play audio and video from the BBC website without any tweaks required.

Openoffice 2 is bundled and features Novell branding. Evolution is the personal information manager of choice for Gnome, while Kontact handles these duties for the KDE desktop manager.

Both are very good, in some respects are better than Microsoft Outlook and can talk to an Exchange server.

Sadly it's no longer enough to rely on the built in security measures of Linux for protection online.

However, a firewall is set up automatically and anti-virus software can be installed (see our review of AVG for Linux).

Additionally, Novell Apparmor, described as a complete intrusion-prevention system, prevents software from being modified by third-parties.

Overall, Suse Linux 10 has a polish that is sometimes lacking from completely free distributions and the price makes it very competitive alternative to Windows.

System requirements:
Intel Pentium or higher
256MB of Ram
500MB hard disk space (2.5GB for standard install)