Xine is provided with SUSE 10, but it won't play encrypted DVDs, which includes many of ones you can buy at the video store.

My solution was to load a version of xine that didn't have that limitation.

Go into YAST and click on the Installation Source menu item.

On the Software Source Media screen click Add. Make sure you are connected to the Internet either via the 10/100 NIC or WiFi.

Select the FTP radio button and enter "packman.iu-bremen.de" in the server text box. Similarly, enter "/suse/10.0/" in the directory text box. Leave "anonymous" with an X in the box and click OK.

Returning to the Software Source Media, the Finish button can then be pushed to get back to the main YAST menu.

Now, go into the Software Management screen and search for "xine." Make sure to click the "Description" button.

Click all the "xine" boxes and then push the Accept button. YAST will pick up all the xine files from Packman and load them onto your machine, including the parts needed to play video DVDs.

That's it. Simple, right?

Put a video DVD in the drive and start xine. You will then be able to use the DVD and Play buttons to show a video on your screen.

I'm very happy with the Athlon 64 laptop and SUSE Linux 10. Everything works and the software is stable. Like I said at the beginning, this is the best Linux version I've ever loaded on a laptop.

Now go off and take advantage of all the productivity tools that Linux has to offer.

Rob Reilly is a consultant, writer, and commentator. His company solves client problems, in a variety of business & technology areas. He is also a Contributing Editor for Linux Today. Send him a note or visit his Web site at http://home.earthlink.net/~robreilly.

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