I want SuSE linux, dont want to pay for it, I just want the ISO like everyone else has, i know they dont post thier ISO on the site or on LinuxISO.org, but is there someone else out there that does? it should be free for download, and if some one posts it, from my understanding of the GPL anyways, as an ISO format there SUSE shouldnt be able to stop them because it can be distro'd freely, right?

If you want SUSE in ISO files, then you have to pay for it, ~39.00 for personal version and ~69.00 for the professional version. However, you can still install the personal version using ftp if you have a fast network connection, DSL!!! Otherwise, go with Fedora or Mandrake then... taurus

I think you will benefit inmensely from learning the correct meaning of the GPL and what "free software" truly stands for. It will minimize any possible dissapointments in the future or any incorrect assumptions.

I have the same question Dre has. Is it legal to make SuSE ISO's And post them for ftp downloads? Is SuSE licensed somehow? ...and is it legal for me to make copies of my SuSE CD's and give it to a buddy? What I'm reading here tells me otherwise.

Well, I am going to try to explain it the way it was explained to me a few years back by some lawyer friends who deal with Intellectual Property, Patents, and Proprietary Licenses. Hope it helps some. No it is not ilegal to make copies of CD's the way you mention, as long as what you are copying and distributing is the true Linux portion; basically the Kernel which is fully Open Sourced and under the GPL (General Public License). You can also copy SOME of the software contained on the CD, as long as it is also fully Open Source and under the GPL. One has to remember that not everything in the Linux world is. And that is where the misunderstanding and wrong assumptions by some people come in. In everyday English term, and eliminating the "lawyer speak" , the GPL and Open Source basically means that one can chnage, modify, adjust, alter, and distribute "freely", can make money on it (sell it), BUT, the license can NOT be modified or altered in any way whatsoever as to limit what the next user can do with it. Basically it can not become proprietary at all. Now, can a user redistribute a full ISO of the SuSE Distro?? Well, a distribution is something different. Is a compilation of packages that are totally open source and under GPL, but the distro itself does not have to be. Each distro manufaturer has developed unique ways for installation, package management, maintenance, etc (just some examples) that do not HAVE to be under the GPL or Open Source, BUT, most if not all, make them open as to continue with the Linux "spirit". But it is their choice and is not mandatory. One can take programs out of the distro and redistribute them and be ok. BUT, to fully redistribute the complete Distro (be it SuSE, Red Hat, Debian, Slack, etc etc) one has to read the actual license of each Distro, for each of them is different. That is the license for the distribution itself and not for the software that is compiled in it! ( I think most if not all distro companies have the full license posted on their site somewhere.) A program being open source and under the GPL does not make the whole distribution the same way. Then in turn, the distro having some "stuff" that is not Open Source or GPL it does not take away from the Open Source and GPL "spirit" either. And to praphrase the "traditional" statement in the Open Source world: "free" software is or can be, "free" as in beer, or "free" as in speech. It is not always both! (IMHO, if we don't pay for at least some of the Linux goodies we use, how is Linux and the Open Source Community going to actually survive?! Cold-hard-cash is always a realistic necessity, for "goodness of heart" is never enough in the world!) Hope that help at least somewhat. Best regards...

I approached SUSE to give Linux out to kids in organization called " www.computerforkidsusa.org". As far as I am concerned, you need permission to distribute and copy SUSE. SUSE has allowed me to load their 8.2 pro product on 1600 + PC's. They have also sent me 700 copies to give away with the PC for documentation. Check out SUSE press release about their donation: http://www.suse.com/us/company/press/press_releases/archive03/lvcfk.html Randy

I think it is legal but I'm not totally sure. I think you can get the iso's from http://www.wormwang.net/mirrors/SuSE/