Novell today announced the November release of SUSE LINUX Professional 9.2, described as an all-in-one Linux product suitable for both Linux newbies and technical enthusiasts. SUSE LINUX Professional 9.2 will come with latest open source functionality, including 2.6 Linux kernel enhancements and the KDE 3.3 and GNOME 2.6 desktop environments. It will also make it easier for users to get online while they're on the move with simple system configuration and support for Bluetooth and wireless LANs.

Improved power management through ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) and suspend-to-disk features will make computing easier for laptop users keen to run the popular open source OS. SUSE LINUX Professional 9.2 will ship with more than 3,500 packages including office, internet, email and multimedia software, server services for home networks and development tools. The OpenOffice.org 1.1.3 office suite will come as standard along with Novell Evolution 2.0, the latest community edition of the Linux email and personal information client. Additions include also include GIMP 2, an image processing and graphics creation tool, and Nvu, a web authoring system.

A selection of commercial software, including full versions of the text processing application TextMaker, spreadsheet application PlanMaker from SoftMaker and full-version backup software sesam from SEP, will be included in the release. A demo version of MainConcept's video editing software, MainActor 5, also comes bundled with SUSE LINUX Professional 9.2. Further YaST installer improvements include greater security via the automatic activation of a firewall after installation and a redesigned user interface to permit easier setup of SAMBA, DNS and DHCP servers.

Users will be able to run SUSE LINUX Professional 9.2 on both standard 32-bit PC processors as well as 64-bit platforms (AMD Athlon 64 and Intel Extended Memory 64-based systems). Novell said SUSE LINUX Professional 9.2, which will come with installation guides and 90 days support, will ship in early November with a retail price of $89.95 (€89.95). ®

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