Seems strange that Novell America still is not selling 11.2; it seemed that in the past the latest version of Opensuse was available for pre-order; What is going on?
Hi
See post #3 here;
http://forums.opensuse.org/looking-something-other-than-support/425635-wheres-retail-version.html
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Cheers Malcolm °¿° (Linux Counter #276890)
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It’s not that it’s not selling. We have several requests, but we also have some other details to take care of. We apologize for the delay and are working hard to get openSUSE 11.2 Boxed sets to North America (my land) as fast as we can.
We are hoping to make it available in the next couple weeks, but we can’t make any promises yet.
If you want to get on the list, pm me and I’ll give you further instructions.
While it is obvious more DVD’s are downloaded than bought, I think Linux will never be a desktop mainstream until users are willing to actually pay for it!
I know. Linux may be free and all that, but seriously: a desktop OS that’s only available as an ISO file for download is not worth comparing to an OS that is also sold on a CD/DVD. And quite a few people don’t even know what an ‘ISO’ file is. 
That’s what you think. My kids think that getting an OS for free from the web is as normal as getting other things for free from the web. I just asked them. They think others better should get used to that.
I just want to say that I think any boxed edition ought to include “things other than software/manuals”. Apple ships their machines and OS updates with those “Apple logo” stickers. OpenSUSE should include something comparable (my vote is for a relaunch of those plushie/soft toy chameleons - one of my friends has one and has been rejecting offers from a lot of people to buy it, it’s (1) adorable, and (2) very distinctive)
I am using a free version of 11.2 right now! In my opinion, I think 11.2 with Gnome is as good or better than Win. 7, so I am not a curmudgeon about all this, but there is a central flaw in the business model of linux in that development costs are completely divorced from user costs and until a solution to this problem is found, linux will never compete effectively against MS in the US market, although I realize linux is dominant in India and China, and perhaps much of Europe.
openSUSE-11.1 boxed edition included stickers and a complimentary flash light. The 11.2 boxed version does not. Possibly a sign of tougher economic times?
Awww… there goes my incentive 
Just ordered the new boxed edition for USA today! Opensuse 11.2 is by far the best OS I have ever used on an Intel box…it beats Windows 7 in so far as speed and stability as far as I can see, although I still use Windows 7 for SAS.
godboxslx
godboxslx.com
openSUSE 11.2 is now available in North America
Dear openSUSE Fans,
we are happy to announce our new openSUSE shop, we are running on behalf of open-slx. It took some time to make this product availible. I personally thank everybody asking me, when it openSUSE 11.2 will be available.
Since today you can order openSUSE 11.2 and the box will send to you as fast as possible.
Enjoy openSUSE 11.2 with all of us.
Thank you,
Dr. Stefan Werden
CEO open-slx inc.
Manaing director open-slx gmbh
Finally… Nice… What can we expect from the box other than the official media?
I think that when you talk about “business model” as if “market share” and other buzzwords should be the main goals of Linux, you fail to understand the FOSS philosophy. Linux itself has no business model, it’s up to those to use it to develop what they wish around it. Quite a few organisations use Linux in their operations.
And throwing more developers at a problem doesn’t necessarily get you a higher quality product as Vista shows. lol!
It comes with a book, iirc, and 90 days of email and/or phone support. Which would be handled by yours truly.
Great news. So, now all you north americans can start ordering the box. Please do so…
My camera is dead at the moment, otherwise I would have included a picture of the bookshelf above my desk. It shows the books that came with 9.1, user flark still has the box.
It is true that Windows has issues and I have already stated that I think 11.2 is superior to Windows in most respects, but serious statistical applications like SPSS and SAS work best on Windows due to the obvious desktop advantage Redmond has; in my world, the reverse would be true, but how do we get there? One way to start would be for all serious users to buy new releases at least one a year, or one every 18 months in order to financially support the effort; it is my stereotyped belief that most users simply download free copies and never do much but play around with linux because most people eventually have to work in a corporate world full of Office 2007 compatible boxes; that is the reality which we on here would like to see corked (I think so anyway). But as long has KDE has driver deficiencies and average users spend inordinate amounts of quality time arguing over which “distro” is better, then I think linux will always remain a server OS, and not a mainstream desktop OS.
I don’t think money is the problem. FOSS has far more developers than proprietary software. The lines of code that are open, if valued by conventional metrics would be worth billions of dollars, have a look at ohloh.
I’m also not in favour of people buying out of a sense of charity. I would rather see more people get interested in using FOSS for its own sake and having fun with it. That way we get more developers in the long run. You can use FOSS even if the OS is proprietary, e.g. Firefox, Chrome, OpenOffice, Gimp, etc.
If you look at the history of FOSS, it’s already come a long way and has had a large influence if only by providing competition. By some measures, FOSS is already more widespread than people suspect. Vast numbers of of broadband routers out there are FOSS powered. The computing landscape is changing too. People will be using cheap FOSS powered gadgets and not knowing or caring what is under the hood. The desktop is only one sector.
I do not consider buying boxed sets charity; Here in the US, people donate to PBS or NPR, because they like to see the quality programming continue, but it is hardly charity;
No reason why you can’t buy some merchandise from Novell or a box set from open-six if you feel like it. Or donating to the FOSS project of your choice.
Other people contribute in various ways, by writing documentation, testing the software, helping learners, writing howtos, hosting websites, etc. Money is only one aspect.