If you're a home user looking for a simple, standard desktop replacement or simply want to dip your toes into the Linux waters, NLD is worth a look. Even though you are not its target market, it is a reasonable, task-oriented distribution with all of the tools that most non-developers will want to use. However, if you're expecting a standard, everything-including-KSink SUSE distribution or a replacement for a full Mandrake or an ailing Fedora Core distribution, NLD is not for you.

If you are a sysadmin in an enterprise environment that already uses SUSE Enterprise Linux Server and/or ZENworks, you should definitely give NLD a serious look. It can save your business substantial Microsoft licensing fees, free you from Internet Explorer and a zillion security holes, and satisfy your user community. Even if you are a sysadmin in a Red Hat Server environment, NLD is well worth a look. It's a stable desktop environment from a traditionally user-centered company, and you can use ZENworks to administer both your legacy Red Hat desktops and newer NLD ones.

You can download an evaluation version of the Novell Linux Desktop with 30 days free updates from the "try it free" link on http://www.novell.com/products/desktop/.

Bill von Hagen is a co-author of Wiley's upcoming SUSE Linux 9 Bible with Justin Kent and Roger Whittaker.

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