With an attractive interface and a unique, comprehensive configuration tool, SuSE Linux Professional 9.0 offers rich features and simplicity for mainstream users and small businesses alike.

SuSE Linux maintains a corporate focus, but with this release, it has added many features that make the OS easy to use and navigate. The interface is at least on a par with those of the Lycoris Desktop/LX Deluxe and Xandros Desktop 1.1, though those might still be more appealing to users who want to abandon Windows yet maintain its look and feel.

At SuSE Linux's core is the YaST2control center, which is one of a kind. The configuration utility handles everything from software and system updates to hardware and peripheral configuration. In the 9.0 release, access to the YaST2 control center has been added conveniently to the KDE configuration panel, which centralizes configuration options in one intuitive interface. With YaST2, users can manage a wide range of settings, including network profiles and security features (like the built-in firewall). YaST2 even contains a partition utility, so if your system has Windows, you can resize your existing Windows partition to make room for Linux.

The integrated xine media player did not include the necessary codecs to play our DVD, but we had no problems with any other file format. SuSE Linux also had no problems recognizing and configuring our USB printer. For office apps, SuSE ships only with OpenOffice.

Comprehensive Help Center resources are available here, both as a local application and as a free online service. The online portal provides extensive help databases, including patch support, and it lets you fill out a help ticket to receive call support. And like the Lycoris distribution, SuSE allows end users to share their desktops in real time with administrators.

Compared with its main competitor, Red Hat Linux 9 Professional, SuSE strikes a better balance between its wealth of configuration options and usability for both the end user and administrator. In fact, we didn't see such a balance in any of the other Linux products.