Novell Inc. Wednesday announced its Suse Linux 10.0 operating system will be generally available early next month in retail or online stores. The new software emphasizes ease of use and is aimed at both developers and home users, according to the company.
Suse Linux 10.0 is the first fruit of the openSuse project, a community program backed by Novell and designed to evangelize its distribution of Linux. Novell unveiled its openSuse project at the LinuxWorld show in San Francisco last month when the company released the first public beta of Suse Linux 10.0. Suse Linux was previously known as Suse Linux Professional.
The new operating system incorporates feedback from developers garnered since the first public beta was released on Aug. 9. A first version of the build server version of openSuse is due to appear early next year, according to a roadmap on the project’s Web site (www.opensuse.org). Novell plans to begin regularly releasing alpha snapshots — first looks at very early versions — of Suse Linux 10.1 from Sept. 28, the roadmap states.
Suse Linux 10.0 comes with over 1,500 open-source Linux applications that users can install to facilitate advanced Web hosting, application development and home networking, Novell said in a release. The retail version of the operating system also includes installation support and manuals.
Desktop features in Suse Linux 10.0 include the Firefox Web browser, the OpenOffice.org 2.0 office software suite, e-mail and instant messaging clients together with security features including spam blockers, antivirus software and an integrated firewall. New to the Linux desktop are the Beagle desktop search engine and the amaroK Linux music player.
SUSE Linux 10.0 will also preview open-source software due to become available in future releases of Novell’s enterprise Linux operating systems such as Xen virtualization and iFolder for file access anywhere, Novell said in the release.
The new release also targets Windows users looking to migrate to the open-source operating system by simplifying that process. Users can either straight off replace their Windows software with Linux or install Linux alongside their existing Microsoft Corp. operating system to try out the open-source software, according to Novell.
The suggested retail price for Suse Linux 10.0 is US$59 or