Okay, so I'm new. Not only new to GNU but Windows as well... let's just say that up until a year ago I had no idea what PCI slot or DDR meant.

Today I find myself hunting that illusive beast of legend, the perfect Linux distro.

I'm madly in love with Debian Linux... or more specifically apt... except for the installation, which I've never been able to really begin properly, let alone master...

Well who wouldn't want package management, stability, and a fine history of openness all together in one desktop package? Top that off with the Toy Story references and you can't help but dig Debian.

I've tried Libranet - not too shabby, and I'm eagerly awaiting the release of Mepix Linux 2003.10 - both Debian based...

So far, Knoppix is the only distro I've tried that sucessfully detects and configures hardware (other than my monitors - one HP, one generic). So I'm perusing your forum and thinking to myself that I might as well install Knoppix!

I have a few newbie questions, however...

First, can I use Knoppix just as it were Debian? In other words, can I use apt-get and run with it just as if this were an install of Woody?

Second, this will be an install on an entire HDD, no dual boot. I'm currently building a test machine for this install. If it works, it's likely to become my primary Linux box. Are there any cautions you would give a newbie before starting on a project like this?

Third, and most important... how do I pronounce Debian? I've been pronouncing it as if it were an achronym... like D.B.N. (with the accent on the "D")

But I recently heard it pronounced Deh-bian (like Debbie or Deborah)

I want to make sure I get it right... I live just minutes from the 3vil 3mpire and I want to make sure I say it correctly when I'm in the local Redmond, WA coffee shops...

Thanks for putting up with yet another neophite and his ramblings,
Nube