Hi WAL!

Sorry I can't help you with build_deb or build_rpm - but I imagine that if you have installed either Debian or RH on your hard disk as a regular distro, then these are the commands to use instead of build_module. With the CD ROM version of Knoppix we are using build_module because we have a read-only filesystem (we can't save modules to /lib/modules/2.4.2x-xfs on the CD). (Perhaps someone more experienced than me can confirm this.)

With regard to other distros, I can't comment from personal experience on either Debian or Slackware, but I think you'll find they are more difficult for a beginner than Knoppix. My advice would be to stick with Knoppix until you are thoroughly familiar and comfortable with it, and only then think about venturing further afield based on more knowledge and experience of what you are doing. Too many people seem to dabble in Linux and get discouraged when things don't work. This is a shame, because it's much better to build on what you know will work, and make a success of it.

For more info about other distros, however, the following are useful:
http://www.distrowatch.com/
http://www.rodsbooks.com/distribs/

Regards

Robin