Please excuse my complete ignorance with this question, even though I have been working with Linux for a little while....

Between Fedora Core 1, 2 Test 1, 2 & 3.. etc etc... what is the major difference between all these editions?

The way I see it, each linux distribution is a collection of rock solid base linux files, and the only difference being which RPM software is added into the distribution. Also, the whole testing project being which RPMs don't work well with other RPMs (incompatibilities etc).

Am I way off track here? What are the fundamental differences between the Fedora distributions?

its just updates mainly. there are some new features and stuff, but fc1 and fc2 are largely the same. fc2 has the new kernel which is a big deal, and gnome goes from 2.4 to 2.6, kde from 3.1 to 3.2. because of the new kernel sound goes from oss to alsa, which is a fairly big change

I don't think you are way off track at all. Some distros can be a little confusing, because they do not all follow the same (or any) numbering scheme. In most all cases, I suggest you use the latest stable release of any distro. Sometimes, however, that may not be the best solution...

I have an old old notebook by Twinhead. Fedora core 1 works great on it, but not if I update to the newest kernel, or if I update to KDE 3.2. On the other hand, my server box has tons of memory, big hard drives, and good graphics - all of these components were chosen for Linux compatability. The latest updates for Fedora work like a champ on that monster.

Maybe you already know this, but Linux is the Kernel, and a distribution is (anally and properly) called a GNU/Linux distribution. A distribution may or may not be based on a "rock-solid" foundation. With Fedora (any flavor) you can use apt-get to add and subtract packages to make it suit your needs...

Thanks guys. I also have major issues if I try to introduce a new kernel to Fedora.

With a new kernel I get python errors when running networking apps, sound comes and goes, and I can't compile many things successfully like ltmodem drivers.

I never had these sorts of problems with redhat 9. laydros, if core 1 and 2 are largely the same, maybe I should forget fedora for now and either go back to RH9 or try Mandrake 10.0 community.

Are any of the later-than-rh9 distributions less finicky?