Taking a step backwards here. If someone says that the mysql 5.0.4 shipped with the newest distro relase of <Insert Distro Name> is somehow different the mysql 5.0.4 that I upgrades using <Insert Distro package utility>, then I'll disagree with them. As long as the package version number is the same and the Distro hasn't added their own garbage to it, then it doesn't make sense for someone to install the newest distro release because 5.0.4 = 5.0.4

Now some Distro's add their own "patches" to a package sometimes. Most notably the kernel package, but none the less. In that case, the new release version would be different than the upgraded because the patch used for upgrade should have come from the vendor who maintains the package, not the linux distro maintainers. The package would only be the same if you added the custom patches from the distro maintainers.

That would be my final answer to the original post. Unsubscribing as this went a little off topic for me.

If I may ask a question about debian... I dl'd the 2 dvd version and installed it and when it rinstalled it and then ran it, it brought me to a prompt... I am really new to linux and really want to come to the light... and away from the dark side...lol. I DL'dand installed mepis and am having all kinds of trouble installing a lexmark optra e+... and I would like to be ale to run my duel monitors but really dont see that happening to quickly...any way the question... Which version would I want to DL to have a desktop version of debian... or do I have it already and have to enter through commands... I really wanna stay with the K desktop and delete my windows....
I really wanna waddle with the big birds instead of flying through windows...
Bruce

Native Debian installs a basic (command line) system first, then it's up to the user to choose if they want a gui and if so, which one. Most popular is KDE, Gnome or xfce. All Linux systems actually are built this way, Linux is really a command line system with the windowing interface (and all other apps) as separate added on applications. So, to get a native Debian with kde you would first install the system, then put in the sources list for apt, then apt-get install xorg, kdebase & kdm. When you reboot, you *should* then have a kde system up & running. You then go on from there to add whatever else you want. Native Debian is not the easiest thing in the world for a beginer to install.

but, I think you have a Debian KDE system already...I don't know much about Mepis but, like Kanotix, it is a Knoppix offshoot...which is in turn based on Debian. So you have a Debian based system and can use apt-get to upgrade & customise it.

As for dual monitors, I can't help, I've never set up for dual monitors. Best bet is google...I found this link:
http://www.mepislovers.org/modules/n...0e8a72c648561f
and this howto for Gentoo:
http://gentoo-wiki.com/HOWTO_Dual_Monitors
You can use info intended for Gentoo (or most any other) as a guide. Once Linux is installed, setups are pretty similar regardless of distro; the big differences between major distro lines are in how the packages are installed, not post installation setups.

Be sure to check out the Mepis forum. If it's anything like the Knoppix forum (I used Knoppix for a long time before switching to Kanotix), you will find it very helpful.

You don't have to compile everything from source. Gentoo, like FreeBSD can use binary packages. Also updating is not difficult, you can update an entire system using just two commands, "emerge --sync" and emerge -Dup world". Its also easy to install packages, for example to install KDE, I could just do "emerge kde". There are also some GUI frontends to portage (gentoos package management system).