Linux Magazine DVD

In August 2005, Novell announced a dramatic new direction for Suse Linux. Suse, they said, was a community project, with volunteer developers participating in the testing and development.

Now the community Suse has finally arrived. We are proud to include Suse 10.0 as this month's Linux Magazine DVD. Suse Linux 10.0 combines Suse's long Linux tradition with the technical muscle of Novell and the agility of the community framework. On this DVD, you'll find the great tools that have made Suse one of the world's most popular Linux distributions.

Installation

Plug in your Linux Magazine Suse Linux 10.0 DVD and restart your computer. The easy GUI installer will set up your system with minimal fuss. The installer identifies your hardware and proposes a configuration. You can accept the default configuration or customize your system. Select packages, resize partitions, and even configure firewall settings from within the installer.

New and Updated

Suse Linux 10.0 comes with a large collection of new and updated packages. Included on the DVD is Linux Kernel 2.6.13, along with KDE 3.4.2 and Gnome 2.12. Updated components include GCC 4.0, glibc 2.3.5, Mono 1.1.8, and the Xen 3 technical preview.

Some of the new tools making their Suse debut are the AppArmor Lite intrusion detection system, the Twinkle and Kphone VoIP systems, BitTorrent and KTorrent, Novell iFolder 3, Mozilla Sunbird calendar, Banshee Music management, and Krita, an image-processing tool unveiled with the latest version of KOffice.

Mozilla Sunbird Calendar is a cross-platform, standalone calendar application. Use Sunbird as a fast, convenient, and simple tool for scheduling appointments and managing a task list. The Krita image editor provides a vast collection of easy-to-use tools for painting, file manipulation, and special effects. Also appearing with Suse 10.0's KOffice 1.4 is the Karbon14 vector graphics tool.

YaST

Suse Linux comes with YaST, one of the best and most respected configuration tools in all of Linux. YaST provides a simple and convenient user interface for managing software, hardware, networking, system configuration, security, and user accounts. You can use YaST as a single interface for configuring partitions, power management, firewall settings, and boot loader settings. YaST also lets you install and remove software, configure network services, troubleshoot device problems, and view the system log. YaST is a single tool for nearly every common configuration question, and after you become accustomed to it, you will wonder how you ever got along without it.

Suse 10.0 comes with new Yast modules for supporting PostgreSQL and the AppArmor intrusion detection system.

On the Desktop

Suse 10.0 is designed for the desktop user, with an abundant collection of tools and components for the home or office. Included is a pre-release version of the OpenOffice.org 2.0 productivity suite. The OpenOffice suite provides a complete set of office productivity applications, including word processing, spreadsheet, presentations, and the new Base desktop database.

The Kontact personal information management suite, and the alternative Evolution suite, contain tools for managing your email, calendar, and address book. Browse the web with Firefox, Konqueror, or the Opera 8 browser, and access instant messaging through Gaim and Kopete. Suse 10.0 contains the gthumb and gwenview image managers, as well as the Gimp 2.2.8 and Inkscape 0.42 image editors.

Suse 10.0 has a rich collection of multimedia applications. Also included on this DVD are tools such as the Kaffeine 0.7.1 and RealPlayer 10 video players, as well as AmaroK 1.3.1, kdetv 0.8.7, and the JuK jukebox. You'll also find CD players, audio tools, and the K3b 0.12 CD burner.

An exciting new addition to Suse is the Banshee music management system. Banshee is the default music player for the Gnome environment. Use Banshee to import, play, and manage music files for your Linux multimedia system.

Also Inside

Suse 10.0 comes with excellent support for wireless networking and portable power management. The Suse Linux 10.0 DVD also includes the Suse Linux firewall system and other powerful tools for protecting your network. Programmers will appreciate the rich collection of software development tools, including Mono, Eclipse 3.1, and the KDevelop 3.2.2 development suite.

Suse also reaches beyond the desktop with a vast collection of server applications, such as Bind 9.3.1, Sendmail 8.13.4, Samba 3.0.20, and Apache 2.0.54. And system administrators will find many useful utilities for system monitoring and remote management.

Conclusion

Suse Linux 10.0 is the first in a new line of community-based systems from the famous Novell Suse Linux distribution. Install the Linux Magazine Suse Linux 10.0 DVD today and get your first glimpse at the new Suse.

Figure 1: KDE 3.4.2 is the Suse Linux default desktop.

Figure 2: Manage your calls with Kphone.

Figure 3: Yast is still one of the best loved configuration tools.

Figure 4: Suse 10.0 includes a demo version of the MainActor video editor.

Figure 5: An improved Beagle desktop search utility helps you find files, messages, metadata, and images.