Missing a C compiler, do I need one?
 

When I try to run the ./configure on the gift gzipped files I get an error in the conf.log, saying it can't find a C compiler in the $PATH directory, is this what I'm missing? I'm running suse 9.1 and I know theres C compilers on the installation discs so should I install one, if so, which one?

Look for gcc on the installer, or it might say g++. Probably gcc though, and yes, you do need one. It's very important to have.

It's telling you that the compiler is not in you PATH. It's not telling you that the compiler is not installed. If your SuSE is up and running, the the compiler is installed. You just need to add it to your PATH.
To add it to your PATH, open a terminal, and try this:
which gcc
that should return something like '/usr/bin/gcc'.
then
PATH=/usr/bin/gcc
export $PATH
I believe that will add it to your path.