I've recently started using Linux, having played around with quite a few distros, and have picked up quite a bit, although I'm still not quite ready to give up on my Windows because I would lose lot of productivity in my work etc. before I got comfortable enough to work with Linux regularly. I do however have my eye fixed on the latest Suse box set, and am just not sure if I should stick with my mandrake download edition until I can devote more time with Linux.
I thought $80 seems quite a fair price for the Suse 8.0 professional pack.

Well, if you really want the CD's and the nice little books with pictures and stickers that come with the box, then go right ahead and get the Suse box set. But perhaps you ought to still spend some more time in learning how to shape your own copy of linux to your own needs. Remember that all those programs that come with the cd's are a download away, and the programs in the cd's are most certainly outdated by the time your get the box set and install it on your computer. But hey...you pay 80 bucks and everything is already done for you, or mostly in any case. So, it's your call, ;-)


zLinuxz

If you're going to make a slow migration, but are serious about it do the boxed set. Support Linux! Buy a distro once in a while. I've bought four now I think over the years.

Beats the pants off of WinHo's prices

Well, but buying the boxed set isn't really supporting linux because you can download it for free. You are rather supporting the company which sells you the distribution. It's not like buying a MS Windows boxed set, in which case you are actually supporting Windows since windows is owned by MS and Linux is not owned by any distribution company.
You only spend those 80 bucks for the ease and convenience of the cd's, how-to books and for someone to organize the preloaded software, not linux
So, really, buying a distribution is one of two things, either not knowing enough to download the software for free and installing everything yourself or because you're just lazy and rather pay 80 bucks than to go through all the trouble of downloading the stuff. And I classify myself on the second kind. So no, paying 80 bucks is not really supporting Linux at all. :P

zLinuxz

That depends on which 'very hot place' you live at. I bought the Suse 7.3 box for the books that come with it - any imported linux book starts at about 100.- US where i live.

Buy it if you like it. But you can download it for free, test and then decide.

I have to agree with Mara. When I use a distro, and it seems to do almost everything I want/expect I would probably buy a boxed set then. Not necessarily that it would go from almost to completely but that I wouldn't have to know how to program to fix the few things that needed fixin. But if I try out a distro that just completely sours my tastebuds, then I doubt I would get a boxed copy of it.

Of course, if you have the time/money/brains you could always buy boxed versions of 5 or 6 distros and put them all on the system. That would require quite a bit of disc space, but hey if you got the money for 6 boxed distros, you probably have the money for dual 320GB HD's.

Final thought:
If you are just going to use <fill in the blank for the distro you choose> to learn how Linux operates, I wouldn't get a boxed version yet. Once you learn how to do a few tricks in command and can configure your software pretty well, then maybe it'd be time to get a boxed version, or build an LFS.

Good luck

I know how it operates pretty well, I've actually just started Level 1 certification with SAIR, so I know my way around a bit, but having never purchased a boxed set, i just wonder if it's worth it.

No