Hi,
is Red Hat Enterprise 5 server the same as desktop edition plus aditional server features? I mean if it is suitable for home use (office, multimedia, multi OS support)? Thanks.

It's essentially the same, but anything you have server-edition doing, you can make desktop edition do. There will probably be some differences with support for 'server-class' things (HBA's for SAN attachment, etc.), but they're very similar.

That being said, if you're looking for a desktop distro, consider CentOS. It's essentially RedHat server, without the pay-for support.

just a comment; red hat is a distribution that leans towards stability and security, marketed towards corporate use (single OS). To get out of the box multimedia, newest OpenOffice, and multi-OS-aware installation you unfortunately must compromise on stability and security by going with a different distro. Red hat has found their paying linux market, and its a great business model, but it means non-frilly desktops.

I have just installed it. It does not have openoffice, any multimedia software, etc.

Well.. thanks for thanking us, but may I ask why you didn't follow our advice?

If you are very new to linux, you can get a feel for the numerous flavors of linux by checking the top 10-15 entries at www.distrowatch.com (the list is low on the right side now.) Keep in mind that most of them are free, so the only thing it costs to try new ones out is time. (In fact, trying linux types is some people's hobby!) You might consider Ubuntu (or related, such as mint), on which I've had good experience adding non-Ubuntu software without breaking the automatic updates.

I have both Server and Desktop versions. The Desktop version does not come with a lot of the server packages by default. In order to get them, you will have to log in to the Red Hat network and activate the "workstation" channel. Also, if you have the server version, you will need active the "Supplementary and Optional Productivity Apps" channels. I believe that whatever version you have, you will only get support for your main channel and NOT for the extra ones. I may be wrong though, but I'm almost certain that is how it works.