i am looking for a stable distribution, i would prefer maturity if possible (but it is not necessary), the freedom of software is very important to me (although i don't have as big problem with distros, such as ubuntu, that offer the ability to use some non-free software, just so long as there is a simple option to use free-only) ease of installation is not that important to me because i probably will not be installing it multiple times, but i would really prefer an easier installation (i am fairly new to linux) also, i very strongly prefer distros that are community backed to commercially backed distributions (debian over ubuntu)
distributions that i am currently interested in (but i am still open to new suggestions) include; debian (i am a bit confused about some criticisms of the freedom status of the software), slackware, gNewSense, and trisquel (also dragora)

also, the hardware i an using; a very new gateway sx2840 and a last generation macbook (i use the macbook more often and i am more concerned with the macbook)

stable, freedom, community backed
Debian.

How so? Just don't enable the contrib or non-free repositories and you'll have only free software.

that is what i though, but i have read a few confusing critiques, thanks for the clarification

what are the main differences between debian, slackware, gNewSense and trisquel?

The differences are:
package management, secondary file hierarchy, and focus.
All Linux distributions can be made to have the same functions.
Most applications will work on most distributions.
Linux is a kernel. GNU/gcc/bin-utils are a separate project. The windowing system known as X or Xorg is a separate project.
All other applications are separate projects.
To make it simple: Slight variations on the same theme.

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EVERY version of Linux is community backed. The GPL prevents anybody (including a corporation) from creating a distro and NOT providing the source to those that use it. It just happens that some distros are maintained by a corporation. They still get all of their software from the community, and are required to submit any changes they make and distribute back to the community. The corporations are part of the community, and a lot of times employ programmers that work and contribute to FOSS as part of their jobs. By supporting the corporations that support Linux, you are supporting Linux.

Forrest

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Debain or red hat ( CentOS 5.5 is the "free" community version)
are both good

but i know from exp. that REHL and cent can be a bit " fun" getting multimedia to work

building the current Gimp on centos 5.5 is out of the question
and there are conflicts for mplayer ( from rf)and the rest of the os

does anyone have suggestions based on the computer(s) i would like to install on?
(most interested in the last generation macbook pro as that is the machine that i use most often)

Depends on if your Macbook is PPC or Intel-based. If PPC, RHEL doesn't support it.

This site may help you in your decision.

HTH

Forrest

well fedora supports ppc BUT it is very very far from stable and mature

two years of running cent-- 1 crash
same two years fedora and arch ( too many crashes to count )

I would look into Debian if it's a PPC system. I used the Debian Netinst download and put a basic minimum on a G3 iMac and added only what I needed after that. I have Fluxbox but LXDE would also be nice for a bigger spec machine.

i have a 2.5ghz intel core 2

right now i am very interested in gNewSense and possibly debian as well
any tips on installing either (or suggestions for a better alternative for my computer)?

I guess you can check out this link, it mentions installing using bootcamp.