I am relatively new to Linux. I used Red Hat Linux years ago and found it to be difficult, awkward, and clunky. Drivers were a pain, and overall I did not like it. Fast forward many years later and now we have the Asus EEE PC out. Since I can't afford a Mac and I am just plain fed up with Windows, I figured a Linux laptop might be a viable option for me. The first distro that I tried was SLAX Linux. I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't have to setup drivers and it was smart enough to do the work for me. Linux has evolved a lot since I last used it and I am willing to give it a second try. I don't have the Asus EEE PC yet. I will get it soon, but I want to have an idea of how I am going to set it up first. Here are my questions though:

1. If the customized version of the Xandros OS takes up 2.6 gigs and leaves only 1.4 gigs open to the user on the 4 gig model, then how much room is available on the 2 gig Surf model? The 2.6 Xandros OS can't fit on the 2 gig surf model as it.

2. I am under the impression the eeeXubuntu is optimized for the Asus EEE PC not only in OS size, but also because it does not keep logs that could wear the life of the solid state drive down. Additionally, the eeeXubuntu version is said to have all of the necessary drivers for the EEE PC to run. In my fiddling with different Linux Distros, I found that I like openSUSE the most. Is there any special circumstances that I need to consider? Do I need to make any changes so that openSUSE will run properly on the Asus EEE PC? I know this is a vague question. My main concern is that installing openSUSE or what other distro I might choose will become complicated and go above my head. Is there another distro I should try? Does it have a LiveCD version?

3. What is the difference between KDE and GNOME? I have read the Wikipedia articles on them but it's going over my head. In layman terms, what is the difference between the two and how does it apply to me?

4. Are programs universally supported between all versions of Linux or do I have to find a version of the program that is compatitble with that particular distro?

5. Where are the download sites? I have been trying to find a website that covers Linux like download.com covers Windows programs. I normally have good luck with anything I am trying to search online for, but this particular question keeps coming up empty handed.

6. Here are the core functions I want my future ASUS EEE PC to do. I have included the program that I know will be useful for what I want to accomplish. A few others I have no clue on. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. If there is a program you like and I don't have it's catergory on here, I would love to know what it is.

Word Processing/Spreadsheets/etc. -- Open Office
Graphic Editing -- GIMP
Internet -- Moxilla Firefox
Financial (like Quicken) -- ???
Web Development (Like Dreamweaver) -- ???
Programming (I am brand new to this, the easiest for a beginner like me. I've had the TINIEST experience with C++) -- ???

7. Anything else I should be aware of that I didn't cover in my question? I know that I am asking a lot of questions, hopefully they aren't stupid ones. I appreciate any help you can offer me.

Financial: Use OpenOffice Calc or the like for basic stuff. Dunno about anything else.
Web Dev: vi Really: WYSIWYG editors aren't as common on linux boxen, dunno again.
Programming: vi or emacs with the right plugin, using gcc or g++ for c++, f77 for fortran, or python/perl. If you want to do java, get eclipse.

1. Probably stripped out some things.
2. Not a clue. I'd expect not too many changes, but expect to have to configure some drivers by hand.
3. Different styles of window manager. Gnome does things one way, kde another. It's all a personal preference thing, but Gnome is often considered a bit bloated right now. I'm a KDE guy, but it's entirely up to you.
4. Both. Some are compiled for a specific distro's design, most are source code and can be compiled for any distro. I don't know of any programs that don't have the source available in some form, so you should be able to port anything anywhere without too much extreme work, minus system utilities, of course. Supported, however, is always up to the original writer/community.
5. freshmeat.net Sourceforge.net
6. see above.
7. You'll have to learn and try to get it doing what you want, but it's rewarding. Have fun!

3. google gnome screenshots and kde screenshots, you should be able to tell the difference
4. depends, it doesn't really matter because the package manager controls it
5. You don't really need a download site, because the package manager lists software you can install and installs it for you if you want it. Not sure what the package manager is called in Xandros, but you could google it
6. Word Processing..: Openoffice, abiword, gnumeric, Koffice
Graphics: GIMP, Krita, Inkscape, Openoffice draw
Financial: Kmymoney
Web Development: Kompozer/Nvu, Quanta Plus
Programming: Kdevelop, Anjuta, Eclipse, Emacs etc.(look at the programming forum sticky)