OpenSUSE 11.3 uses KDE 4.4.4 as the default desktop environment. However, users that prefer Gnome can choose to install Version 2.30.1 or a preview of the upcoming Gnome 3.0 during the initial setup. Owners of netbook computers can use the lightweight LXDE environment, which debuts in the latest release.

"The openSUSE distribution is a stable, easy to use and complete multi-purpose distribution," Novell says on the openSUSE Wiki. "It is aimed for users and developers working on desktop or server. It's great for beginners, experienced users and ultra geeks, short it's perfect for everybody! OpenSUSE is also the base for Novell's award-winning SUSE Linux Enterprise products. The latest release … features new and massively improved versions of all useful server and desktop applications. It comes with more than 1,000 open source applications."

A first is the inclusion of Oracle’s Btrfs filesystems. While not recommended for production environments yet, users need to configure a separate boot partition to give it a test run since grub does not recognize Btrfs at this time.

The new version includes the updated Build Service 2.0 provides software developers with a tool to compile, release and publish their software, and a full collection of popular open-source programs such as OpenOffice and Firefox. The YaST2 system administration tool combines all programs users may need in one easy-to-use set of menus.

After the release of openSUSE 11.3, the development community starts to focus on version 11.4 that is scheduled to be released in March 2011. The project aims to release a new version every eight months. Critical updates will be provided for two releases plus two months, which at the current release cycle results in a support lifetime of 18 months.

Novell technology contributed to the emergence of local area networks (LAN), which displaced the dominant mainframe computing model. Today, Novell's primary focus is on developing open source software for enterprise clients. A multi-platform network operating system called NetWare was one of Novell's first products. The software used Novell DOS, formerly known as DR-DOS, as a boot loader. Ethernet cards, which were expensive at the time, did help the company grow and develop additional products like GroupWise, BorderManager and Novell Multi-Protocol Router.

AT&T's Unix Systems Laboratories, which was acquired in June 1993, gave Novell the rights to the UNIX operating system. Novell did buy WordPerfect and Quattro Pro in 1994 in attempt to better compete with Microsoft. The company sold both products only two years later to Corel and DR-DOS to Caldera Systems. Eric Schmidt, today head of Google, laid the groundwork to move Novell towards the Internet in 1997.

In an attempt to stop sliding sales, Novell tried to focus more on services and hoped that the acquisition of Cambridge Technology Partners in July 2001 would help. Shortly thereafter, Novell started to move into Open Source and Enterprise Linux. Ximian was acquired in August 2003, and SuSE followed 3 months later. In November 2004, Novell released the Linux-based enterprise desktop Novell Linux Desktop, based on Ximian Desktop and SUSE Linux Professional 9.1. SUSE Enterprise Server, released in March 2005, was Novell’s attempt to move current NetWare customers to Linux. In August 2006, the SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 (SLE 10) series of products were released.

A joint patent agreement between Microsoft and Novell, aimed to cover their respective products, scared many Linux users and resulted in reviews, open letters, and protests. While Novell adapted the OpenXML/ODF Translator for use in OpenOffice as a result, many feel that the agreement has come at the expense of long-term value and goodwill within the open-source community.

Today, Novell continues to sell support for its SUSE Enterprise Linux products, while German based openSUSE functions as the testing ground and distributes current version 11.2 freely under the GNU license.  Product development, sales, and services form the pillars for Novell now.

If the reports are true and Novell finally accepts a buyout bid, the company may not continue in its current form. Several reports suggest a scenario where it could be broken apart. Nobody really knows what this means for the open source community. A recent note on its website suggested that the openSUSE office in Nuremberg, Germany used an open house to refocus on its future strategy.

SUSE Linux evolved considerably over the years since its initial release in March 1994 and dropped its Slackware heritage, shifting towards the RPM package manager first seen with the Red Hat distribution. It also gained many unique features such as the YaST configuration system.

The company behind SUSE was one of the most well-known European Linux vendors and became a very active contributor to the KDE project. The latest stable release is 11.1.