openSUSE 10.3

For rich, reliable and secure home computing, there's no better choice than openSUSE 10.3. It features an easy-to-install Linux operating system that lets you browse the Web, send e-mail, chat with friends, organize digital photos, play movies and songs, and create documents and spreadsheets. You can even use it to host a Web site or blog, create a home network and develop your own applications.

Whether you're new to Linux or you use it daily, openSUSE 10.3 delivers the features you need most for home computing and networking. It also includes more than 1,000 of the world's leading open source applications. From established solutions like Firefox and OpenOffice.org to new technologies like Beagle and Xen, these applications are a real value. You simply open the box, run the installation program and start using Linux for everything you do. Choose the default set of applications to get a great desktop or customize your entire computing environment. It's truly that easy.

Because it's Linux, your system is inherently secure, practically immune to e-mail and Web-borne viruses and worms. Of course, there are solid security features built right in. It's all there. Read on to see why openSUSE 10.3 is the complete Linux solution you've been looking for.

Although not intended for business deployments, openSUSE 10.3 provides corporate evaluators with an excellent first look at technologies like Xen 3.1 (virtualization), OpenOffice 2.3 (productivity suite), Beagle (desktop search) and Mono (open source development environment).

Home-desktop Features

openSUSE 10.3 includes all of the latest desktop productivity tools to help you with your most common home-computing tasks. Whether it's instant messaging and communicating with friends, creating and designing graphics, or organizing digital picture and music files, you'll find what you need on our complete, easy-to-use desktop. To make finding things even easier, we've included Beagle, the powerful new open source search engine that puts all of the content in your personal information space at your fingertips. Plus, to keep your desktop secure, openSUSE includes powerful built-in tools for spam blocking and virus scanning.

Internet and Messaging

openSUSE has everything you need for effortless browsing and communication. Enjoy safe, secure, seamless Web browsing with Mozilla Firefox. With features like popup blocking, tabbed browsing, live bookmarks, endless customization choices and much more, it's no wonder that it's the world's most popular open source browser. For calendaring and e-mail, Novell Evolution and Kontact provide easy-to-use choices. Even chatting is easier with Pidgin and Kopete, which let you chat with friends on AOL Instant Messenger, ICQ, IRC, MSN Messenger, Yahoo! and many other popular chat services—all from a single application.

Home Office and Productivity

Working on Linux is no problem, thanks to OpenOffice.org 2.0. It's a powerful productivity suite that includes everything you need. You can read and create documents, spreadsheets and graphical presentations that you can exchange with your colleagues and friends who still use Microsoft Windows. Adobe Reader 7 for Linux is also included, giving you quick and easy access to PDF documents. openSUSE 10.3 also includes Beagle, the new desktop search technology that you can use to quickly locate and display files, Gaim chats, Novell Evolution mail and contacts, and more.

Security and Mobility

With openSUSE 10.3, you'll enjoy great functionality—no matter where you are. Call friends and colleagues using Ekiga or Linphone for just the cost of the Internet connection. Connect to networks quickly and easily with enhanced WiFi functionality, and use Bluetooth devices freely—openSUSE recognizes them automatically. Best of all, you need never worry about the safety of your work. openSUSE 10.3 includes AppArmor 2.1, an integrated firewall and antivirus software, to protect you against malicious attacks and other threats.

Linux Multimedia and Graphics

Turn your Linux home office into your personal creative studio. From graphics to video to images, openSUSE gives you all the tools you need for supporting, creating, editing, organizing and managing cutting-edge multimedia. Now, for the first time, openSUSE 10.3 includes full MP3 playback support using Fluendo's Gstreamer. Helix* Banshee is a music management and playback application that lets you import CDs, sync your music collection to an iPod, play music directly from an iPod, create playlists with songs from your library and create audio and MP3 CDs from subsets of your library. Read more about the digital-photo organizers in openSUSE as well as its other easy-to-use graphics and Linux multimedia applications: GIMP 2.2.17, K3b, and RealPlayer 10 and Krita, the new image-processing tool for KDE.

Enhanced 3D Desktop

Experience the new graphics capabilities that not only provide you with cool effects and fun stuff, but also help you achieve new levels of productivity. Through Novell contributions (e.g., Xgl and 'Compiz Fusion') to the open source graphics subsystem, you get the latest functionality in your openSUSE 10.3.

Linux Entertainment and Games

If you're ready for a break, choose from a whole spectrum of Linux entertainment applications in openSUSE 10.3. From classic card and board games to the latest open source favorites like Frozen Bubble, Freeciv and SuperTux, there's plenty to keep you busy. openSUSE also includes a unique collection of educational software, so whether you're interested in stargazing or language study, you'll find open source tools ready to assist you.

Description taken from the Novell website

System requirements

• Processor: Intel: Pentium 1-4 or Xeon; AMD: Duron, Athlon, Athlon XP, Athlon MP, Athlon 64, Sempron or Opteron
• Main memory: At least 256 MB; 512 MB recommended
• Hard disk: At least 500 MB for minimal system; 2.5 GB recommended for standard system
• Sound and graphics cards: Supports most modern sound and graphics cards