Generally 2.6 has better hardware capibilties and can use cd-rw drives without scsi enumulation. (Which is one less thing to go wrong). Though it has some problems with older hardware and programs. Yes they should be able to shutdown the PC.
I've noticed that knoppix 3.6 comes with kernels 2.4 and 2.6.
Will both shut my machine off when I close down the OS?
Beyond that what are the pros and cons of each?
Generally 2.6 has better hardware capibilties and can use cd-rw drives without scsi enumulation. (Which is one less thing to go wrong). Though it has some problems with older hardware and programs. Yes they should be able to shutdown the PC.

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