11 Things SUSE Linux Did in Its 20 Years

What started as a twenty member organization while three of its founders were studying mathematics at University has become one of the most successful computer service providers of the world. SUSE Linux celebrated its twentieth anniversary this year and has announced that its customer base has reached 15,000.

The SUSE Linux enterprise server is now used by more than two-third of the 100 global fortune companies like SONY, London Stock Exchange and Walgreens, and is the most popular commercial enterprise Linux distribution in China.

Successful launches, ground breaking agreements and acquisitions, the company have faced numerous highs and lows on the way to become the fourth most popular Linux Distribution. These are the 10 key milestones in the 20 years path of SUSE Linux.

1. 1992-

The company started sending Slackware operating system to people who wanted to get Linux on their Computers. This set of 40 floppy disks contained SLS (Softlanding Linux System), Slackware and some printed technical assistance manuals.

2. 1994 -

SUSE Linux was basically a German version of Slackware. In 1994, the German version SUSE 1.0 was translated and distributed in CDs instead of Floppy Disks.

3. 1996- The first ever version of distribution under the name SUSE Linux was published as SUSE Linux 4.2.

4. 1997- SUSE LLC entered the US market with its first office in Oakland, California.

 5. 1999- The company offices were established in UK, Finland, Sweden and some other Nordic countries as well. SUSE took a step closer to world wide expansion by partnering with IBM, SAP and Oracle.

6. 2001- SUSE Linux Enterprise Server was launched. In the following months the company hit a terrible phase due to various reasons and had to reduce its staff significantly.

7. 2004- In a deal of $210 million SUSE Linux was acquired by Novell Inc. All the computers ran SUSE Linux for the first time in the following Brainshare gathering by Novell.

8. 2005- Novell announced the launch of open SUSE project that would allow developers to test and develop the SUSE Professional Series operating system.

9. 2006- Microsoft and Novell signed an agreement to improve SUSE’s interoperability with Microsoft Windows. The agreement covered plans for cross-promotion and cross-licensing of both products. As a result, the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server now supports over 9,200 third-party applications and 13,500 hardware, storage, and networking devices.

10. 2010- The Attachmate Group acquired the SUSE/Novell Company for $ 2.2 Billion. Attachmate converted SUSE into a standalone business but did not propose any changes for the SUSE business plan or open SUSE project.

11.2011- A website for SUSE business was launched by the Attachmate Group that provides services like SUSE free download and Linux product purchasing.

SUSE in 2012- SUSE states to be the leading provider of Enterprise Linux Solution. With the most interoperable platform i.e. SUSE Linux Enterprise, the company empowers thousands of organizations around the world and enables them to efficiently deliver computing services.

Linux emerges as a reliable option in 2012

Linux has been into the market since the late 1990s and is open to anyone who wants to use it. Linux is free and moreover there is no paying for a cd or a product key. Yet many consumers are very skeptical to switch operating systems or download another. Because of various reasons, windows popularity could be one of them and adding to it is the extra work and time needed to install a new operating system.  

Linux

Here are ten good reasons to justify as to why Linux could be a possible reliable option in 2012.

Cost:  It’s free what could one ask for? Unless you choose a commercial option with paid support, while Microsoft sell out their products at a hefty amount and sometimes recurring fee. Linux distributions can be installed in as many computers one wishes without spending from your pocket whereas Microsoft licenses are restricted to be installed on a single computer.

Hardware: Gone are the days when hardware manufacturing companies did not offer many options of drivers or support for Linux operating system, today Linux supports most hardware devices. Linux is also the perfect choice for those old computers with barely any processing power or memory and computers with minimum RAM capacity run Linux without any issue.

Security: Linux makes sure that there is no compromising when it comes to security. Viruses, spyware and adware are major coause cause of concern for consumers these days and Linux has managed to stay secure all these years whereas windows is the most targeted OS for viruses and other malware.

Compatibility: On terms of compatibility Linux is the most preferred operating system because it offers much better interoperability and is compatible with users' needs, that is if you ever collaborate or intend to do so with people in other companies or parts of the world, your best bet would be Linux.

Open Source: Open source model of Linux variants and Linux programs enable the consumers to customize or modify the code as per their needs on the otherhand majority of Windows programs are not open source.

Reliability: The frequency of rebooting is very less comparatively as most of the Linux variants and versions and can often run for months and years without the need to be rebooted and hence Linux is found to be reliable although few version of Windows have been improved by Microsoft lately but still does not match up with Linux in terms of reliability.

Speed Matters: Yes it does, very much when it comes to operating systems. Linux is really fast even on older hardware the reason being least requirement of hardware resources when compared with other operating systems.

Service Support: Consumers using Linux are well supported through the active community of users and developers that surrounds most distributions and there are options of paid support aswel for Linux users.

Choice:  Linux has one great advantage that is it provides consumers with the choice and power to control just about every aspect of the operating system. Desktop look and feel and the kernel are the two major features that the users have control on.

Remarkable Improvement: Linux in the past few years has shown remarkable improvement infact its always improving, as per an article by PCWorld "the communities that tend to surround Linux distributions also tend to keep improving them continuously, both with new features and by zapping any vulnerabilities quickly. No more waiting months for patches to come your way".

Now that the advantages of Linux have been listed out its time to experiment and switch to a new operating system. Windows can be a great tool but when it comes to giving users control of their computing environments, Linux would be the best option.