It seems I've opened a bit of a worm can.

As far as speed goes, I can see how the SuSE is a bit slower, but not much worse than Windows XP prior to my modifying the number of processes that run by default. However, I try not to be in that much of a rush for anything anyway.

I am willing to suck up the $90-$100 price for the added support. I have to agree with J.W. on the support. In my business place I am forced to defer to the world of King Bill. The problem I run into on a very frequent basis is that Bill's legion of support people are typically a very denigrating group to deal with. My overall experience with the Linux community has been positive and a reinforcement of my own desires to break away from the "evil empire".

It's easy to see that everyone has their preferences, and (compliments of a growing computer graveyard in my office) I may continue to experiment with different distros.

By the way, I was able to download SuSE 9.3 from the site. Thanks...

Oh, this is tame.

I've seen flame wars over the various distros over on Usenet.

As many will say, use what you like and what works. I was half thinking of loading Mandriva or Xandros (as I now have free DVDs) on a new system at work. Instead I'll stick with what I know. That's what it boils down to, IMO.

Good luck out there!!

I used Suse 8.2 professional, which I liked and 9.0 and 9.1 personal.

However I changed to Mephis and Knoppix, because a) 9.1 was very slow (it was a fresh install) and b) installing software is easier with both of these. Also installing a new printer is lot easier with Knoppix and Suse.
Personally I would use Knoppix, because of apt-get and hardware installation.
Also Suse is quite expensive, if you want to have the latest version, compared to Debian based systems (free).