can't believe the same thread is running in umpteen forums.Don't the mods attend to this?

I would advice you to use RedHat 8.0
It's user friendly and good espacially for beginners,it worked for me.

I agree, but I think it's good even for noobs. apt-get solves so many problems that it makes things easy and smooth for noobs, if they can make it through the install. I don't think the install is any harder than some other distros, but people tend to disagree with me.

It's not the install that scares prospective debian users,but configuring the system itself is a challenge for a newbie.When I first used it,it was like going thru a living hell.Coz most system administration utilities in debian are command line.Course you've got gui but installing the gui is another problem.
It can be quite daunting for a newbie,but experienced users would vouch for it with their life.It's that good.If you've had better luck with the config,then congratulations.Otherwise, it's certainly not a mandrake or fedora.

Many of the complaints I've had are the install itself. My opinion is that many people find it too knowledge demanding on them. They need to know just a little more than they do to get it right and that makes them give up. I didn't think it was much different than some other install other than it is not a gui install, which is what I think some people need.

Configuring the system was not a problem. I've always made sure that I learned everything in linux at the commandline and not in a gui, since linux is a commandline OS and the gui is just something extra. Some systems don't even have the gui on them so if you need it you are in trouble. I've used many different distros and in all of them I used commandline for configuring everything, so maybe that's why I didn't notice that about Debian. I did that so I would understand things better and know more about the system than if I did a gui approach. I couldn't even tell you how to config anything in the gui other than a gui only prog like mozilla or something. FTP, samba, apache or anything else I only know how to do at the commandline. I know there are gui interfaces available, but I don't know what they are or how to use them.

Log in, run vi on the config file, change the setting, save it, restart the daemon and it's done. If you know the file and setting you are after you can have that done before x can even load on some systems, not to mention starting up the gui interface prog to make those same changes.

I have tried 3 distros. Redhat, TurboLinux (for a few minutes), and I've seen a little of Mandrake. I'm now using Suse 9.1 Professional which is in my oppinion a great distro because it's jam packed with just about everything you need. Some people also don't like that but hey you always have the option of what you want installed anyway. I tried Suse 9.1 Personal for a few minutes as well and got rid of that some quick after I updated it and it messed up my grubber and then could not boot. You can download the 5 CDs for 9.1 Pro as well. You just gotta' know where to look.....

Oh yeah, RedHat 9 was good too. I tried to install Fedora Core 2 but I had install problems seeing I have an Asus P4P800SE which causes it to reboot instantly.

I use Fedora Core 2, and I think its great for beginners, very user friendly. Another distro I sometimes use (but dont like much) is Mandake, and this is another good one for beginners.

Well I can't say that I have tested all versions of Linux, but I've tryed some. So I can say this:
1) Slackware Linux is the clearest linux - best for advanced users
2) Mandrake Linux - well my oppinion is that Mandrake sucks ... it has good X but ... it is not preffered.
3) SuSe Linux - This is the best Linux for networking I think and the best Linux for X ... but not for newbies.
4) Red Hat Linux - I think this is the best Linux for newbies cause there are more stuff than others ... I mean that there are more small programs which one newbie can manage to understand ... and the only one linux which has Xconfigurator :P. Also I think that the X is pretty good and easy ... so I would suggest it ...
5) Debian Linux - Well this is the one I've never tryed ... but I've heard good suggestions about this ... it is helpful I can say

So directly answering to your question my suggestion is - try first with Red Hat ... then when u become advance user try doing Slack ... after that u will have no problems with the others distributions ...

Slackware is my number 1
It made me learn a lot about linux real quick, and it still does.

I also use Debian for preparing myself for LPIC-1
( need to know all the "apt-get" and "dpkg" stuff..... )
What I also like about Debian is it gives me a small and clean base system from which I can build on anything else I need.

If you want to use Linux without being interestet in leanring too much ( you just need a working system and don´t want to go Redmond ), I´d recommend Mandrake and Suse.
If you want to learn, try Slackware. ( be prepared to read a lot of manuals, faq and manpages )

I like Slackware. It simple, fast and great.

I'm a huge fan of Fedora Core 1 and would suggest it to anybody!

--Spriggan

uh... been all over suse.com - where does one look for the pro images????

I downloaded personal a few days ago and had a similar problem after downloading updates....

Thanks

Geo

I've used, RedHat(which i do not like)Mandrake(fair but not what i wanted)Desktop(not good)Free BSD(excellent for advanced users)and SUSe9.0(in my opinion the best distribution available

You don't . You buy the pro version... Just like Mandrake: they have the download edition, but to get say, "Discovery" or "Powerpack" versions of Mandrake, you've got to open your wallet. SuSE Pro is pricey, but worthy the money and so is Mandrake .