I've already downloaded and burned RH and Mandrake 9.1. B4 I install one last ques. I've noticed alot of ques about RPM's installs and removals first here I go and make a fool out of myself what is an RPM? (don't laugh im a win loser but trying) i'm asuming it's downloaded sw. I wan't the best distro for application installation OS upgrades and still decent to use (prob asking for to much right)? Oh well i'm leaving my fate in the hands of the experienced. and hoping to install in the next day or two.

again Thanx

RPM = RedHat Package Manager.... software package. Linux distros are categorized according to type of package system they use. RedHat, Mandrake, SuSE, etc use RPM packages. Debian use DEP, Gentoo SRC, Slackware TGZ and Arch Linux TAR.GZ.

What I know most RPM distros are upgraded through releases of a new version. The other package type distros have download ftp and websites. Myself I am using Arch Linux and simply by connecting to AL's server by running "pacman -Su" all my existing packages get upgraded. With "packman -S <name of package> downloads new package.

OT but kind of ironic that what many people, myself included, would agree was the worst package management system (rpm) is the most widespread.

I prefer .tgz and source, but have yet to try Gentoo or Arch and I'm still making up my mind about .deb but it already seems better than .rpm, anyway.

Heavy. Commercial. GUI-centric. RPM. Red Hat, Mandrake, SuSe.
Lighter. Less commercial. Less GUI-centric. Everything else. Slack, Debian, Gentoo. (Arch.)

Weird how they all go together mostly.

you've not lived till your tried portage, so clever, if a little unstable at extremes.

chill with the "I'm a loser for asking bit" ... so what if someone flames you for asking noob questions, this is the noob forum after all. Ask your questions and take your flames like a man (or lady), but I think asking what an RPM is if you dont know what it is, is a fair question. Just don't ask it over and over :-D

Personally, I see no difference between tarballs and rpms as far as ease of install. RPM's can be hard to find for certain packages. Tarballs are usually easier to find. They can be a pain to install but have the added advantage of being able to compile specifically for your system (cpu). If you like ease of install, you may want to go for Gentoo or Debian, but these can be a pain to start off with.

Well, I'll definitely try it soon. I'm willing to try most things but Slack, Debian, and Gentoo were the ones on the 'must try' list.

-- slow again - that was to acid_kewpie.