I think the above two posts sum up what many people feel. Knoppix, running off the CD is just what most users want; it recognises all my bits and pieces and they all work. As a windows user and non-geek I want an out-of-the-box solution which does not need hours of command line stuff to make anything work.
I know lots of linux bods will see this as a blasphamy, for them the whole point is hours of command line stuff; therein lies all the fun and sense of achievement.
However perhaps the answer is that Knoppix simply isn't designed to be an out-of-the-box solution that we are all seemingly looking for. It does what it was designed for and does so very well.
Ah well, lifes a bummer..........!!