Note: If this is the wrong forum for this thread, please move it accordingly. Thank you!

Recently I've made the decision to move to Linux on a permanent basis, away from Windows. I will still keep a Windows partition for some games I need to play, but aside from that I need to be linux only.

I need help making this transition, and a distro to stick with.

With Mandrake, I enjoyed 9.1 and was eagerly awaiting 9.2 when I heard of all the bugs. From that point on I decided not to use Mandrake any longer.

From there, I used Fedora for my small Linux partition. I like Fedora alot - it's compatible with all my software and it really works well. However, it's not the fastest OS I have ever used, and that is a major downside to me.

Recently, I downloaded live cd's for Linspire, Suse, and Mandrakemove. I downloaded them to test the waters for which distribution I would end up sticking with.
Mandrakemove: DEFINITELY not what I want.
Suse: OH MY GOD what an awesome disc!!!
Linspire: Great, very awesome however it leads me to many questions.

Here are my questions:

First, Suse. I am considering this in place of Fedora because of how awesome the Livecd was. However, due to the Novell ordeal, is this really a distro I can stick with? I mean, will there be a 9.2? Finally, does it automatically support joysticks? Fedora does, right out of the box without any installation of drivers necessary, and installing joystick drivers is a rite of passage, it seems.

Linspire: Looks great, runs very fast. (Or maybe its because its a livecd?) Everything looks crisp and something I can get into. However, can I install and build packages without CNR? Paying for free software is ridiculous. Does APT work? APT Dist-upgrade? Does it support the joystick option as I mentioned above? (I'm a gamer).

What are the strong/weak points of each?

Another question, for my tiny Windows gaming partition, can I integrate my Home/My Documents to be accessable from both in the same place? (Maybe I can have my /home directory pointing to a windows partition so they are in the same place?

Is there a way I can download Suse 9.1 Professional to try it before I buy it? I want to install it and run it as an actual OS and not a livecd, so I know I like it before I buy it. Does anyone know where I can get the ISO's? Thanks!!!

On june 5th you can download the network install for 9.1 but I think it is personal edition

yes there will be a 9.2 version and beyond. SuSE is a money maker, they're not going to kill the golden goose. probably more ximian and netware in it than before, but it's the same company just with new owners.

suse will put a icon right on your desktop for your windows partition.

apt is available and works well in suse.

have all your equipment plugged in and turned on at install time. if your hardware is compatible suse will detect and configure it. joysticks are not a problem, it even has support for 'some' winmodems.

they don't offer ISO's but you can do a free install via ftp if you have the bandwidth or time.

i allways buy the 'pro' edition, but you can save some money by buying the personal edition, then install apt to have access to the latest greatest packages.

Thanks!

Tell me, first of all how do I do the ftp install? That won't blow away my Windows partition, will it?

Can I back up what the ftp downloads so I can reinstall from cd? since it's GNU does any site have the ISO's I can download? Thanks!