I don't get the differences in the distros, James. Can you (or anyone) kindly rephrase that?

"Pre-configured user-oriented desktop PC, not server"?
I mention that phrase because there are people who will recommend a particular distro that they like (and I'm sure they have a good reason for liking it) but that distro is not best for either new users or as desktop OS. Distros like Gentoo, Slackware, and is some ways Debian do not attempt to produce a very well rounded, easy to use, user friendly desktop OS. Linux has the flexibility of being just about any type of computing platform and some examples are: Linux runs the Google search engine, Linux is the OS on a Tivo video recorder, you can get Linux on a wristwatch, Linux on cell phones, Linux on PDAs, Linux on the an Airbus jetplane (on the in-the-back-of-the-seat TV screens). Theose distros I listed in my original post tend to focus more on a desktop GUI OS (think Windows XP or Mac OS X) as opposed to a server OS (think Windows 2003 Server or Novell Netware or big time UNIX ). Ubuntu, Fedora Core and Linspire can operate as a server (and probably do it very well) but the developers again are mostly focusing on desktop & end user issues as opposed to server and big enterprise issues. Something also to note is that they also have a large community of users, forums, tutorials and guides to support it as a desktop OS.

So I've also mentioned that Debian is also a great choice. Knoppix, Ubuntu, and Linspire are all based on Debian. Debian is one of those general purpose distros that can be everything (client, server, desktop, router etc). Installing Debian as a desktop OS is not that hard. But compared to Ubuntu, Fedora Core and Linspire it does require more user involvement in order to make it a very well rounded, easy to use, user friendly desktop OS. It is not ugly, broken, or unecessarily difficult. It tends towards users with more experience. On the other hand, Linspire costs about $50 while Debian/Fedora Core/Ubuntu is $0. Ubuntu & Fedora Core have a new release every 6 months which in my opinion is too frequent & requires the developers and users to worry about upgrading from release to release. Debian's release cycle is rather long & the next release is estimated at a minium of 1.5 years. I feel this is good because of my background in being a sysadmin. if you have known working computer, why would you want to upgrade it & possiblly make it less stable?

Finding a personal desktop OS distro is for me like finding a comfortable pair of dress shoes. I've bought $25 shoes that I discovered I hated. I've bought $80 shoes that again I hated. I think it has taken me a cycle of 5 pairs of shoes before I found a brand that is good looking, sturdy and more importantly comfortable. You must discover the comfortable desktop OS for yourself by reading, experiementing & learning. A great place to visit regularly is distrowatch.com and linuxquestions.com. They have plenty of links, guides & forums for you to visit.

I wish you success in finding shoes, I mean a Linux desktop OS thats right for you.
James