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1/4/2006 -- SUSE Linux Professional has built up a steady following among the Linux crowd wanting a solid desktop operating system loaded with applications and features. The last release of the product by that name was 9.3, and it has now been renamed to SUSE Linux 10. The name is not the only thing that has changed with this release, however, as Novell -- the company now behind it -- is pulling out all the stops to try and make a huge dent in the desktop market. In this article, we’ll look at three things: the updates from the previous version, the new items added to the operating system, and the things that still need to be done.
The system requirements for a standard installation are:
- Pentium 1-4 or Xeon; AMD Duron, Athlon (XP, MP or 64), Sempron or Opteron
- 256MB RAM
- 500MB free hard drive space
- 800x600 or higher resolution
Though the preceding numbers are the minimum, the following requirements are more realistic for an environment you can be comfortable working within:
- Pentium 3, 1GHz processor
- 512MB RAM
- 20GB free hard drive space (documentation states 2.5GB, but the OS always wants more)
- 1024x768 or higher resolution
- 100Mb/sec Ethernet card
What Is Updated
The biggest update is that SUSE Linux is built on version 2.6.13 of the Linux kernel. As of this writing, the latest stable kernel version is 2.6.14.2, so SUSE Linux is as current as any packaged distribution can be (you can purchase the product in the box through most computer/electronics retailers, or download it at openSUSE.org. If you download it, you’ll save on cost but will miss out on some of the applications).
Other updates include the latest versions of the KDE and GNOME desktops; for KDE, this is 3.4.2, while for GNOME it is 2.12 (Figure 1 shows the default KDE desktop). While both desktops are included, you can only choose one during installation. After the installation is complete, however, you can add the second desktop and then choose between which one you want to use when you login.
Other updates include the latest versions of third-party software. Examples of this include:
- Opera 8
- KDevelop 3.2.2
- glibc 2.3.5
- OpenOffice.org 2.0 pre-release
- Eclipse 3.1
- GCC 4.0
- PostgreSQL 8.0.3
- Mono 1.1.8
All of these enhancements are nice, but -- with the exception of getting the latest kernel for a new install -- they are not enough to justify upgrading from the earlier version of the operating system. In any Linux distribution, you can keep your packages current by merely choosing which packages you use and downloading and installing the latest version of them (even the older SuSE includes the SUSEWatcher utility to allow you to automatically check for updates and keep the system current).
What Is New
While the updates are nice, what sets SUSE Linux 10 apart from the previous version is the new features included with the operating system. Among a few other things, SUSE Linux includes AppArmor Lite, Twinkle and KPhone VoIP, and additional MP3 support. Since computers have become entertainment delivery mediums, the MP3 programs Banshee Music Management and AmaroK have been added to make your desktop experience more enjoyable.
Novell AppArmor allows you to implement another level of application security. It’s fully integrated with the existing infrastructure and managed through YaST (Yet Another Setup Tool), as shown in Figure 2. The idea behind AppArmor is to protect the operating system and applications from intrusion, attacks, viruses and similar threats through the proactive use of profiles and related security measures. The “/subdomain” directory is added to the system and used for configuration files for the AppArmor kernel enhancement. AppArmor limits, or confines, programs to a restricted set of resources -- resources that are now allocated by program and not the user.
The other noteworthy new feature set is the inclusion of KPhone and Twinkle. KPhone is a full-blown (session initiation protocol) Voice over IP (VoIP) implementation that works with a standard phone card to make calls over the Internet. With the huge push toward VoIP these days by the likes of Skype, eBay and others, it makes great sense to include this technology. Twinkle is a bit more complex than KPhone (and not installed by default), but it serves a similar purpose.
Other new features serve specific purposes and include:
- Novell iFolder 3
- Mozilla Sunbird Calendar
- Krita (a KOffice image processing tool)
- BitTorrent and KTorrent
What Still Needs Done
Though SUSE 10 boasts a number of significant enhancements, there’s still room for improvements. But let me also point out that SUSE Linux is not the only Linux-based desktop operating system Novell markets: There’s also the Novell Linux Desktop (NLD). While NLD is based on SUSE, it’s only marketed to corporate customers. It differs from SUSE in that it doesn’t include as many applications but does come with support and is thought to be more secure.
This leads directly to my pet peeve. I understand that SUSE Linux isn’t intended to be as secure as NLD, but there is no reason I can see why any desktop operating system should not require a user to login by default. If you accept the defaults during installation, Auto Login (see Figure 3) is turned on and the system automatically logs the user in without requiring them to enter a username/password combination. Not only that, but you can choose Passwordless Logins and get around this basic security layer altogether.
I don’t want to harp on about security too much, but while we’re on the topic, just including AppArmor with the operating system and promoting it as a new feature is not enough. By default, AppArmor is disabled! Why include it and go to the trouble of promoting it if you don’t turn it on by default? Granted, it can easily be enabled (select the AppArmor Control Panel), but it would make more sense that this would be turned on by default.
The Bottom Line
SUSE Linux 10 is a wonderful implemenation of Linux on the desktop and an evolutionary move from SuSE Linux Professional 9.3. It updates some of the basic features that already existed and adds a number of new features. For more information, go here. 
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