Basically, it's the free version of SuSE. It's got most features, but it's missing some addon software that isn't free. For the most part, it's good enough to play with. On the other hand, if you have a broadband connection, you can download the same thing for free. It's not the $80 version, but to try it out, it's not a bad deal. A lot of people do this to promote Linux, so it's not too unusual. On the other hand, a trusted friend is probably better/faster/cheaper. The cost is mainly the cost of time and the disks (three or so) involved. It's a cottage industry that MS seems to miss in their "software improves the economy" speeches.