Being completely new to linux, (and loving it), I have a simple question for being a NUBEE. Why would you install a new kernel to a system that is running great with what it has got.

I installed SuSE 9.0 about 1 month ago, it detected all my hardware, loaded all the right modules, made all the updates, and functions flawlessly. Even all the loaded programs (including gnu-cash, which has never worked for me before) perform at 100%.

I guess what I am really after is, are people installing the latest release of the linux kernel just because it is out there or is there significant improvement in performance, speed, etc.

I think at times, I would like to tackle compiling and installing the new kernel, but then I get this crazy thought in my head "WHY FIX IT IF IT AIN'T BROKE"!!!

because its there
(and its fun)

It's all about Ego, Some people just have to have the latest and greatest
Ego. Linux is like a Harley Davidson, you gotta tinker with it or it will fall apart on you........LOL

sometimes it's just for the sake of learning. My SuSE 9 runs beautifully, but I've never compiled a kernel before so I'm experimenting.

Please let me know how it goes, as I sometimes think I would also like to experiment. By the way, if you installed 9.0 by default process, I assume you have grub as bootloader. All the posts I have seen refer to lilo.cofig-I do not have lilo.cofig. So I would assume one would have to edit grub.cofig???

Only if you copy the kernel to /boot rather than "make install"
...but then you'd still have to edit grub to see your current kernel....

Um...yeah.
/boot/grub/menu.lst has your boot menu.

BTW, I'm stuck at the moment....nmbd and bootsplash didn't load, and I haven't installed my nvidia driver yet

every new kernel has either some sort of new support for something or has an improvement or new feature added

the new 2.6 kernel offers all the above; while the updates to the 2.4 kernels (ie going from 2.4.21 to 2.4.22 to 2.4.23) were meant mainly for fixing bugs and adding things that the 2.4 kernel originally meant to achieve, the 2.6 kernel is a whole new version, which means lots of good stuff

to see what i mean, check out http://kniggit.net/wwol26.html
the main improvement i see in my 2.6 kernel is the better design of kernel configuration and compilation (the menu is better and compiling takes half the time than the 2.4 kernels) and the speed increase within the kernel

bootup is faster for me, and the overall feel is faster, even within X (probably the new "preemptive" kernel ability)

*besides, you are not "fixing" anything, you are adding something new; the old kernel will still be on your system (well, if you set it up correctly)

and for the updating of grub, i believe it is /boot/grub/grub.conf that you have to edit

As for SuSE 9, I believe they added some stuff into their 2.4 kernel from the 2.6 development, so the upgrade isn't quite as earthshattering as it is for some other distros. ALSA was already in as the default sound...thingy...so that at least is an easier transition to the new kernel.