Ron;

OpenSUSE has a bunch of tools for that HFS that you can add if you want more. In YaST2, the install software spot, and adding new mirrors and all that, in one of them there is a section where it has a bunch of HFS tools to make this even easier.

Linux is pretty good (Depending on the distro) with being able to simply plug something in and use it. On Windows when I hooked up a DVD / CD writer drive, I had to sit there and install drivers, reboot, and it barely worked. Yet on Linux, which wasn't supported, I plugged it in and it configured it for me without rebooting or really doing anything.