I'm not sure if Novell would have enough gall to do this --but if in the 50 USD support you get for SLED (1 year updates) they could come to some arrangement with VMWARE to add VMWARE WORKSTATION without users having to purchase a separate VMWARE license this IMO would be a totally UNBEATABLE combination.

SLED 10 makes VISTA look like old (not red) hat and is probably the slickest distro I've ever seen for the average (not computer Pro / geek / hobbyist etc). Well worth trying.

Now some corporate apps do need Windows -- for example you might have to logon to a corporate SAP system (needs a windows SAPGUI) or some other type of app. Excel macros / VBA functions aren't also 100% compatable with the excellent and constantly improving Open Office suite just yet.

Being able to fire up a Windows Virtual Machine to run these apps on a SLED desktop would be a KILLER. You can do it now of course but you need to get a "relatively" expensive vmware license.

(parallels is another cheaper alternative to running Windows as a VM under Linux. M$ Virtual PC AFAIK only runs on Windows Hosts).

It's a risk -- and unfortunately the way modern large corporations are run these days ineveitably tend to suck dry any of the original entrepreneurial ideas and spirit which founded the business in the first place -- but I'm sure this would pay dividends IN SPADES.

For all the remarks about "Losing SUSE" etc etc Novell IMO have come up here with an absolute Winner which will only get better --and of course help the OpenSuse effort as well.
Cheers

-K

That is not completely true. Haven't you heard of FREE VMware SERVER ?

Check : http://www.vmware.com/products/server/

SLED 10 vs openSuSE 10.1 w/ KDE.

What's the major difference between the 2 above? I know with SLED you get a super glorified and integrated GNOME desktop, but what happens when you opt for KDE? (I prefer KDE vs Gnome because of alot of the applications (Yes, I know they will work in Gnome, but why use gnome with a bunch of the KDE libs and packages?).

You can install KDE (you need to select it with Installation Type) --which is what I prefer anyway --but the SLED Gnome implementation is streets better than any Gnome desktop I've had before.

SLED gives you a robust enterprise edition which works straight out of the box and is essentially bug free. It won't have a lot of stuff on it that a hobbyist home user will probably install --Multi-media MP3 / DVD playing etc --although these apps can of course be added. It will also include some proprietary non GPL stuff which using Open SUSE you'll have to hunt around for and install yourself such as PDF reader etc etc.

10.1 Open SUSE means you often have to ferrit around for various apps -- now here I'm talking about a Desktop for a typical Office type user.

You can install all sorts of apps --and I know you can get Free VMWARE server --but that's not the point. A typical user would find it quite hard to install VMWARE WORKSTATION --let alone VMWARE SERVER + the client apps needed to make it run.

My point was that these apps should be included in the SLED product so an end user can just load up a copy of Windows (you need a Windows license of course) and run his app.

And the XGL works straight out of the box --great stuff.

Cheers

-K

Offtopic? well who cares anyway...

I have been a KDE fan since suse 9.0 . I've tested gnome on almost every release but went back to kde straight away. It just wasn't my cup of tea, if you know what I mean.

Now with the redesigned "start" menu it feels much better, and I have to admit that after a small use, it feels even better than the SL 10.1 KDE. Integrated beagle and other enhancements have really moved the suse-gnome to next level. You just have to try it to understand why people are going nuts with the sled.

KDE programs can be used in Gnome and vice versa, so whats the problem?

There are only a few improvements made to KDE. In theory XGL should now work better also in KDE, but haven't tested that yet. Other than that, its basically in the same state as it was with SL 10.1

Yes, I have used SLED 9 and SLED 10 (RC3) and since I do not prefer Gnome, I don't get the features that Novell really sougt to distribute (Gnome updating etc). Also, sure you have the basic Enterprise needs with SLED 10, but those are easily accessible for SuSE 10.1

I easily installed VMWare Workstation / VMWare Player / VMWare Server on SuSE 10.1

The XGL will be a plus when I get a computer that supports it

Uh oh.. a KDE vs. Gnome discussion LOL. There are a few Kicker Applets that I like more, and the KDE applications look like crap in GTK.. (YaST Anyone?). The eye candy in KDE is much better then Gnome, I am man.. I need stimulation. Maybe I am just way to picky.

But back to my original question.. What will I gain from SLED 10 w/ KDE that I won't with SuSE 10.1 w/ KDE? (Other then the proprietary applications?).

A 3 Year supported lifecycle for one, while not a real big deal for the average Joe Linux user... it's a huge deal for the corporate environment.

Thats great if everybody could install and understand VMware and get it for free. It would be even better if companies wouldn't need IT-staff at all and everybody would be running their own operating systems. I just can't understand, why Novell should pack vmware with preinstalled Windows image to their enterprise product...

Its great plan and all, but in large scale organizations like ours we need to control what the users do and running vmware on top of other OS wouldn't fit in the puzzle.

We have solved this windows-linux problem with Citrix Presentation Server. Did you notice that SLED comes packed with ICA Client. We've published all sorts of programs. Users can access windows desktops, office, IE, and pretty much what ever from linux through Citrix!