This started as a discussion where i work and we are not sure of what the standing on this is. Im not looking to do this just need to settle an arguement.
If i wanted to start a business installing networks for small business ie small office with say 10 PCs and 1 server. Could i use openSUSE on all the PCs and the server as the OS for free or would i have to pay some sort of fee as its a business?
In this situation i would be installing the software and then providing the support and only been paid for the support and not charging for the software.
The OSS software in OpenSUSE is Open Source and therefore there are no licensing fees associated with them, no matter how many computers you install them on, or what the software is used for. Just make sure your clients are told that it is OSS and that they have the right to obtain the sources corresponding to the binaries, as this is required by the GPL packages. You should inform your clients about this as part of the install. A good way would be to get them a box set, and factor in the cost in your fee. They also get a nice manual, and contribute towards the development.
The non-OSS software packages (like Adobe Flash, etc) have individual licenses which should be read. But you need not distribute them by CD, they can be installed over the Internet and the license will be presented at install time.
Getting the OpenSUSE box set does not give you support from Novell, except for limited help for the install for one machine. This support is what your business is about anyway.