i currently use mandrake 10.1. and im kinda madd with they watering down the download version and not releasing it for months.

1. does suse/novell have a simple to use RPM installer like mandrake?
2. is novell linux and suse the same thing?
3. woudl it be a wise change?

thankyou

1. suse comes with YaST which is very easy to use.
2. no, but don't ask me what the differences are.
3. i used mandrake 10.1 and just hated it. too much in their hands, not enough in yours. but then again: no distri is bad. everyone just has to make his own choice.

so to download it do i just download the DVD FTP iso and NOT the dvd eval? right.......

Yep just download the DVD iso from the FTP site. If you want also you could download the DVD eval. Or I should say the Live CD. The Live CD-DVD will let you test out SuSe without modifying your HD or drives. I would suggest that you consider buying the 9.2 Pro version. I purchased mine for $82. You get a 300 page Administrators Book and also a users manual.

I left mandy earlier in the year and went to SuSe 9.1 and now on 9.2. Just love it. I have no regrets. It is well worth the $82 for the manuals, 2-DVDs and 5 CDs. The FTP version does not have alot of 3rd party apps because of licensing, etc...

SuSe has YAST which is awesome and it also has apt-get. Makes for updating easy. Not to mention a great forums at http://suseforums.net. Hope to see you there.

John
aka cyberdog

You rerason for Mandrake watering down their download releases unfortunately will happen to you with Suse as well. The download versions always have some apps missing due to commercial licensing issues. You should also note that Suse also does like Mandrake, they release the download edition, a few months after releasing the boxed versions.

u talking about suse with the download coming later or mandrake b/c i DO know mandrake does that and that really pisses me off.

just to double check, this is what i need to download.
ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/i386/cur....2-FTP-DVD.iso

Yep Suse does exactly the same thing as Mandrake. The Suse download edition is released a few months after the boxed version.