[kwlug disc.] best distro for "out of the box" home system?

[unsolicited]

Personally, I'm getting irritated at the buntus. If your user is at
all computer savvy, think solid XP user, go Debian testing with KDE.
You can choose 'desktop' as a type and get much of what kubuntu gives
you in terms of default things, while maintaining an ability to use
most anything. In that most everything offers rpm's and debian source
packages. Things 'just work' in Debian that don't in the buntu's. e.g.
Compiling vmware tools. And you don't run into the debian snobs who as
soon as you mention buntu send you back over there. Whom, of course,
sent you to them in the first place. Debian has just as much, and
probably more, support as the buntu's. Be it the forums or IRC. I've
run into multiple unanswered questions in the buntu forums recently,
reverting to google. Usually leading to a debian answer.

	Doesn't help that kubuntu 7.10 caused me to lose my Gb network card.
Pop in a 7.04 liveCD, and up it came. <sigh>

On the other hand, if linuxmce may eventually be of interest, then go
kubuntu 7.04. [linuxmce only supports 7.04 at the moment.]

A transition tool, perhaps of interest ... vmware converter and player
and free. If there is reluctance to switch to linux, one can convert
the current XP to a vm, load linux, and run their old familiar
environment in vmware player until they're ready to cross over fully.
[Not that this is for you Bob, but may be of interest to others.]

No reason you can't play and check out how you feel yourself Bob -
load up vmware player or server and a blank machine, attach the
distro's iso to it, and off you go. [NOTE: Until you install vmware
tools in a distro, your mouse will really irritate you, and you won't
have shared folders. Shared folders being particularly useful when
tweaking things before bring the network up.]

Robert P. J. Day wrote, On 12/05/2007 3:45 AM:
>   given that (for political reasons) i'm still primarily using fedora
> core, i don't spend a lot of time messing with other distros, but
> i'm frequently asked what's the best distro for home use that just
> plain works in terms of multimedia/browsing/plug-ins/etc.
> 
>   fedora is certainly a poor choice for that, given its policy of
> nothing pre-installed that isn't pure GPL, so i never recommend it.
> typically, i suggest ubuntu.  any other opinions?
> 
> rday
> 
> ========================================================================
> Robert P. J. Day
> Linux Consulting, Training and Annoying Kernel Pedantry
> Waterloo, Ontario, CANADA
> 
> http://crashcourse.ca
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