Perhaps this is part of the reason why Suse is now opening up their distro a la RH Fedora. With more access to the source code people can take a look and suggest tweaks. Debian isn't for me, I'm still too much of a newbie to use a non-anaconda installer, but I figure that the reason everyone always touts their stability and speed is due to the fact that it's the most free of all distros, allowing people to fix it up and make it the best.

Linux Format Magazine's current issue showed something like 20 distros which are derived from Debian, including Knoppix and Ubuntu

Actually, I suggest you try Debian again, so long as it's the Sarge version. The installer only looks intimidating because it's text-based. In actuality it's very slick and for the most part offers automatic choices, making it pretty easy to use. The only difficult part might be individual package selection, since it uses Aptitude (not the slickest proggie around) but I usually tell people to have it install the GNOME/KDE selection and then do all their individual package selection after install with Synaptic instead (which IS the slickest proggie around, heh).

If the Debian installer truly intimidates you, install Ubuntu. It's basically the Debian installer made even MORE slick and automated. (For example, no package choices at ALL)