Congratulations for selecting SUSE LINUX. A few clicks are all that is needed to prepare the installation, which takes fifteen to twenty minutes. After configuring the users and their passwords and selecting the screen resolution, your SUSE LINUX system is ready for use. If you are familiar with earlier versions of SUSE LINUX, you will notice how much the configuration with the system assistant YaST has been expanded and simplified.

The simple quick installation is explained first. If you have special wishes in connection with the programs to install, the partitioning of your hard disk, or other features, read the chapter about the custom installation. YaST additionally facilitates the configuration and administration of your hardware, Internet access, and system — without repeated reboots.

Get to know the graphical desktop environments KDE and GNOME and learn how to adapt them to your personal preferences. The following sections introduce some very useful and interesting programs from the large range of available applications, including office programs such as OpenOffice.org, web browsers, file managers, scanning tools, and image editing tools.

Additionally find information about the SUSE help system and the available information sources containing further documentation. Also included are a list of frequently asked questions about SUSE LINUX and a glossary of the most important terms from the world of computers and Linux.