Tek <tek### [at] evilsuperbraincom> wrote:
> Thanks for the suggestions regarding linux, though I'm still very confused. 
> Everyone seems to tell me to use whichever one I like best, but how am I 
> supposed to know that without installing each one?

  The point is that they are not all that different. A regular user would
not even notice a difference (assuming the same window manager is used).
  I recommended Suse because my experiences about its hardware support
have been very positive.

  Reminds me of http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=19990303

> And even more confusingly, if they're 
> all basically the same then why are there so many different ones?! And what 
> difference does it make?

  The differences are in the details. Most distros have their own
installer, for example, and some of them are easier to use than others,
and some are better at automatically configuring everything correctly
than others. Different distros may have different package management
systems which work on different package formats.
  Some distros are bigger than others and may be oriented at different
types of users. Some distros are more bare-bones while others come
with tons of stuff (some people could call it bloat).

  It's like different cars: They all work with the same type of internal
combustion motor, and they all have (compatible) wheels. However, some
cars look&feel different than others.

-- 
                                                          - Warp

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