I'd agree with you if you were only going to use a web browser to surf the web, that is until you needed to upgrade something to keep surfing the web. However, 99% of us do more than that, so I can't agree with you. Wait till you install some new app that requires X library, and then it doesn't work because it is missing a half dozen dependencies. Now me, I love this kind of stuff because I like to tinker. The average Windows user? He wants enough knowledge to start Outlook and the latest game - enough said.

I should know. I just don't install a distro, I install every last nut and bolt from the bottom up, custom tailored and compiled and built on my system. Doing things this way gets you under the hood so you know how things function and interact with each other.

-S

Damn straight man. Fun for me and you, hell for anyone who is the average Windows user.

Well more fun for me because I compile every last ounce of code for my Linux installs and build it from the ground up, even down to the compiler that I use to install it with. A custom tailored personal version that doesn't work on any machine but my own, and is unlike the standard this is how it is going to be smuck they give you with a normal 'distro'! Only whimpy Linux users use Ubuntu! :D Did I mention how fast and tight my version runs? They probably compile to i386 for Ubuntu even to make sure it will run on anything. Half the special features of your CPU aren't even being utilized. I compile to every last extra gadget on my CPU. Speed is where it is at instead of one size fits all.

Take the plunge if you dare (peer pressure - feel it?:D Be a man!):

http://www.gentoo.org/

Start small and build yourself from a stage3. Then we can discuss building from nothing on a stage1.

One warning - building everything yourself takes time. Expect a good accomplishment to have something like KDE running in a day or two. The end result is a system that runs faster than any other Linux distro you have ever used or tried.

-S

What kind of coding skills/language are required for that kind of stuff Subman? I'm just two school quarters into C++, so I doubt I'm advanced enough for that. Sounds pretty cool to customize your own OS like that though.

I was considering Fedora for my first plunge into Linux, but knew that Ubuntu was "easymode" Linux and didn't want to take any chances on blowing my computer up, I just don't have the budget for a new one or taking it in if the fix is out of my league.

I'm still pretty noobish with Linux and figuring stuff out, but god does it beat the crap out of Windows for general use (and I got X-Plane running on it!)! Nice getting to use a command line regularly again! :DL

PD

No coding skills needed outside of modifying scripts that you want to change, but this is not needed either. It will force you to understand how Linux works and it will teach you how to fix things in it. Understand Gentoo from the ground up and you are probably worth up to $150K+ (if you attain the rank of Sr. so after time spent of course) in the job market.

-S

PS. You can get a stage 3 install done pretty quickly (relatively speaking) by doing nothing more than following the step be step guide:
http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/