A powerful Linux distribution and a strong candidate for being a day-to-day operating system of choice, OpenSUSE 11 is a smart evolution of an already popular distro. And it drips with professionalism, with a confident look and feel that destroys any suggestion the Linux doesn't look the business.

That starts from the moment you go to download a copy. While you can get it on disc should you so choose, we opted to head for the OpenSUSE website to get ours. Here you can choose to download the full DVD version or opt for a ‘live' disc, so that you can boot the operating system and run it from a CD first to get a flavour and feel for it.

There's still one more choice we needed to make though, and that's whether to opt for the GNOME or KDE4 desktop environment. For OpenSUSE regulars it's the latter that's the big difference here, and given how much discussion KDE4 has generated, we couldn't resist giving it a go.

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As it turns out, its implementation is well done here. It won't convert those who have been critical of the environment, but it's a valid and useful option for OpenSUSE. It does make for a very smart desktop environment, too, easily the equal of that which Microsoft applies to its Windows products.

We booted up our CD, which didn't take long at all, and were greeted by a smart, slick desktop. It really has the look and feel of a polished piece of software, and that's fortunately matched by what's under the surface. For when we opted to do a full installation (there's an icon on the desktop that gets the process up and running), the route we went through was consummate in its performance. It was easy, clear and pacey.

There was one question that may worry less experienced users - about partitioning - but the defaults are such that it really shouldn't be a concern. You simply can't imagine how the developers could make such a routine any more straightforward.

In practice we found OpenSUSE was a zippy performer, and even the live CD was laden with enough software to meet the vast majority of needs instantly. The DVD version is, inevitably, even more packed. We did have some problems getting our wireless keyboard and mouse to work, but these were soon comfortably resolved. The menus were clear and logical and multiple desktops tend to be a lifesaver once you get used to them.

Would we switch to OpenSUSE permanently? Quite possibly, because for the average home or small office user, it easily and comfortably ticks the key boxes. It's easy to use, you can get around it without meeting the command line (that puts so many people off Linux), and there's a repository of many, many applications to ensure that it'll not get stale in a hurry.

Perhaps Ubuntu is a little easier for true novices, but OpenSUSE does have a little more going on under the hood, and feels that bit more polished and professional. As for KDE, we understand why some have their problems with the latest edition, but it behaved itself well here.

The KDE 4 option is an interesting evolution, but even without it, OpenSUSE remains one of the strongest Linux distributions out there. It's well worth at least giving the live disc a try.