I have a dell precision M90 laptop. It has a NVIDIA graphics card, and an intel wireless card.
I'm currently running suse SLED 10.

I've finally decided to get my hands a bit dirty and delve into Debian. Should I pick testing or stable branch ?

Etch has become stable recently, so for the moment Etch and Lenny (i.e. Testing) don't differ much. That'll change shortly, when new packages from Sid (the unstable branch) flood in. Keep in mind that Testing means that packages can and will break and unless you know what you're doing, chances are you won't be able to solve them... The odds in Testing are less high then with Sid, but still there is the possibility that one or more managed to evade the catching nets and trickle into Lenny. Yes, it happened in Etch during the earlier days of it's Testing-period...

I agree with Dutch Master I would go with Etch unless you have a good knowledge of how to fix things. I ran several of the Etch betas prior to Etch becoming stable and once in awhile things did break when new things were introduced.
I'm running Etch on 7 systems now and I am very happy with this stable release.

I disagree. For the home desktop / hobbyist type user, Testing is preferable. For one thing, Stable is a two edged sword, it won't break ... unless you bring in new software or hardware. Stable is intended for critical servers and production enviroments where the enviroment stays constant for long periods of time.

Here is my introduction to Debian, and installation guide. Right now, if you do want to install Testing, the best plan is to install Etch (Stable) and upgrade to Testing.

Exactly, rickh:-) That is why I've deployed Etch. I'm running Etch on six stations in my classroom where I want the units to run without a lot of breakage for long periods of time. I don't want to be required to do a lot to maintain the units (I'll patch them with security updates as they become available of course). I also have Etch running on one of my home units too. I may upgrade to Lenny at some point, but, for now Etch meets my needs.

I wouldn't wait too long. The further Lenny gets from Etch in the base installation, the more likely problems are to arise in the conversion. The likely killer situation in the Etch/Lenny conversion will come after the new libc6 arrives in Testing. I like the situation now .. so far only relatively small steps have been taken in the Lenny upgrades. I get to see what effects those have in incremental pieces rather than wait until the conversion involves massive upgrades with the attendant difficulty in determining exactly what it was that caused problems.

Thanks for the information, rickh:-)
Am I right in assuming that my home Etch unit will run "as is" for long periods of time without breakage issues? Heh, I guess I'm tired of distro hopping/shopping, I want a distro that'll run in a bullet-proof fashion for extended periods of time.

Once Etch (Stable) is running, as long as you don't add anything to it except security upgrades, or application upgrades from backports.org ... it'll run until your hardware wears out.

Thanks, rickh:-) That is exactly what I was hoping for. Then my Etch units will continue to run properly for the next year or two until the next stable release. I'm a complete security, stability junky. This is why Debian and Slackware are my two favourite distros. Debian is secure, stable, and very well-maintained.

I disagree with rickh. It depends on your definition of "new" software. As long as you stick with software in Etch repositories, then you'll be perfectly fine. The Etch software might not be "new" in the sense that it's the latest and greatest versions, but it's "new" in the sense of "it's new to your computer".

The great thing about Debian's software repositories is that they're so large and comprehensive. That's why Debian releases are so much larger than anyone else's! If it's not in Debian Stable, chances are you don't need it.

I'll grant you that it's not needed, but home users can not avoid wanting newer applications. Gnome 2.18 will soon be in Testing. At that point we will be seeing dozens of threads requesting help from people who tried to install it on their Etch system.

Most home users avoid wanting newer applications. I do it all the time. I don't want the latest and buggiest, I just want my computer to work. Of all the friends/family for who I'm the de facto "computer guy", not a single one of them has ever asked me to put a newer version of any piece of software on any of their computers. Not once!

I understand that there are many home users who will want newer versions of applications, and these are the people you'll see coming here to ask for help installing it on an Etch system.

But you don't see all the people who are perfectly happy with their current versions who DON'T come here asking for help. Most home computer users don't care about getting the latest and greatest versions of things. As long as everything works, they're fine with it. But if a software update breaks a configuration file or changes the name of their Instant Messaging software, or alters its appearance, or changes the functionality? Oh, THAT will confuse/upset them!

You make a strong point. People who just use their computers for day-to-day "normal" functions, and are probably not even aware of options for upgrades beyond an occasional aptitude upgrade to address security issues are probably well advised to stick with the Stable release.

I am aware of upgrade options beyond an occasional aptitude upgrade, but, my Etch box belongs to my four year old daughter. I don't want to spend a lot of time administering that system. Etch is a beautiful, stable, and elegant system.