I started using Linux a few months ago under Mandrake 9.1, and decided to try out some other distros, namely Slackware and CollegeLinux. Having failed in getting the latter two to work with my network (and believe me, I've tried), I'd like an expert opinion on which distro to go for next. I'm looking for something that does a fair amount of configuring by itself, but isn't as automated and "easy" as Mandrake. I know I could just go out on my own and figure this out, but I think it would be easier to just ask the experts rather than spending hours downloading and burning through many CD-Rs.

Debian Sarge! Easy as pie' You'll love it.

I've been thinking about using Debian for a while, but now I finally have the motivation to try it.

Thanks for the suggestion.

You might want to try Gentoo. Once you go Gentoo, you never go back

well you guys should post WHY you like those distros.. not just that they rule..

Now I have never used debian, but I have only heard good things about it. Gentoo is cool because its what they call a "meta-distrobution" meaning that its not actually prebuilt and done for you. What happens when you are installing it, is that you tell it what kind of programs you want (gaming, internet, chatting, etc) and it will build packages around that. And it will optomize the packages the best they can.

Now this is cool because you constantly can get the latest software ( I believe without screwing anything up, someone correct me if im wrong) and get the latest updates. Also, if you decide you want a program, its as simple as "emerge install program"

I may be wrong, I have never used gentoo, but I think thats why people like it. I still have yet to try it. But Slackware has done a nice job and I think I'll keep it for now.

Good luck buddy!

Thanks for all the suggestions, ppl, but I've decided to go with Knoppix. Everything seems to work fine (so far...) and it's based on Debian, which should help me get my feet wet for when I decide to go for pure Debian.