December 10, 2009, 1:16 am
Retail versions of openSUSE 11.2 are once again available. For the first time, the retail box is being handled by a partner, open-slx.
open-slx is founded and lead by Stefan Werden, a former SUSE employee who approached Novell this summer and proposed to take on the retail box distribution in the future. After some negotiation Stefan signed a contract with Novell and is now allowed to pursue the  retail box on his own. With openSUSE 11.2 open-slx’s main goal is to keep the retail box alive and improve sales of openSUSE in the retail market.
With openSUSE 11.3 open-slx has declared an interest in adding value to the box product so that there is a real difference between free download version and box in retail to purchase.
The retail box has been modified to match the required shelf format. You’ll notice that the box is now the size of a standard DVD retail box, rather than the larger form factor it previously had. Other then that literally everything stays the same – retail box comes with a Start-up manual and includes email and phone installation support.
Currently the retail box is on Sale in some EMEA retail shops (mostly in Germany, Switzerland and Austria), plus SUSEshop.de and on Sale at Amazon UK. Open-slx is working to set up a web shop for North America as well but is still facing some challenges — mainly because the company does this task out of Germany and is not an US entity.
In addition to selling the retail box, open-slx is supporting the openSUSE community by paying Rupert Horstkoetter to help improve the openSUSE wiki and forums. We’re glad to have a community focused company embracing openSUSE and providing continuity to openSUSE in the retail market. 
