Continuing the movement of the recently released 2.6 kernel into the
mainstream of the open-source world, Novell today rolled out its SuSE Linux 9.1 operating system.
Novell unveiled the OS at CeBit 2004, the major European trade show held annually in Hanover, Germany.
Two spins of the OS were released — a personal and a professional version. Both are based on the 2.6 kernel and come equipped with the latest GNOME 2.4.2 and KDE 3.2.1 open-source desktops. The operating systems will also ship with Samba, the open-source file sharing packing that enables Linux hosts to
interact in Windows domains.
SuSE’s new 9.1 professional edition is aimed at end-users who require network or server functionality or who want to use Linux as a development platform. The personal edition is aimed at standalone desktop users.
By rapidly adopting the 2.6 kernel, which was unveiled late last year, Novell is likely hoping to continue its impressive adoption rate among Linux users. According to a recent survey by Netcraft, SuSE Linux was the third most popular Linux distribution with a 23 percent growth rate to 296,217 installations in the six month period from July 2003 through January 2004s
Novell will ship the software in early May. The 9.1 personal release will sell for $29.95. A complete install of Linux 9.1 Professional will cost $89.95; and upgrade edition will be $59.95.
Along with support for Intel-based systems, SuSE has ported the
professional release of the OS to run on AMD’s 64-bit Athlon processors
SuSE Linux 9.1 brings the latest open source technology into a single, easy-to-use package for beginners and experienced Linux users, said Markus Rex, Novell’s general manager for SuSE Linux.
