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Linux isn't an easy set up.  It's not meant for people who are phased by the thought of having to reinstall XP.  If you find iti so archaic that it's not even usable, you're probably not in the target audience.

Well, except that I'm stupid and used "phased" instead of "fazed".  Whatever, I'm tired.

I also want to clarify and say that I didn't mean for my post to come about as snooty, so sorry if it did.  I certainly didn't mean to say something like "if you're going to complain, just go away!"  Certainly not;  in fact, I think that one of the next big steps for Linux is starting to get to the point where it's viable for an average user.  However, it's not there yet.  For now, it is a somewhat archaic system, and it's tailored for a specific audience.  If you're not in that audience, there's just no use in banging your head against the wall, cause it'll be hard and you won't get anything out of it.

Your only incoherency was mistakenly using 'archaic' in the place where 'functional' should be.

But seriously, have you tried ZipSlack? It's pretty awesome, from what I've heard. I haven't tried it yet because I never buy windows anyway.

well,...
Linux can be a serious pain in the tookus to figure out. C'mon. If it takes all your computer time for just one OS, how good can it be really?

On the other hand, choose the OS that works for YOU. If it's Linux, great! If it's not, great! Use what makes you the most productive.

...thought of having to reinstall XP...

Who wouldn't be bothered by this? For one, you're using XP! And have you seen an XP Home reinstall? It's beastly for such a "user friendly" install...

Reinstalling windows seems to be an inevitability, tho MS is getting better at it.

It's funny you should say that, Buzz.  I'm on a debian install from 1999 (Slink vintage, heh), and an XP install from winter of 2002 (I think).

I honestly don't understand what all those windows jockeys do to their machines that they're needing to reinstall every month or so.

Oh yeah, the only times I've ever had to reinstall are due to resetting the partions, etc.  When I said I couple I meant really, like two times.  But from those two times, I'd say neither was very hard at all.

hehe, when I've added bigger drives, I've always kept with the partitioning scheme I had before - one for /home, one for /var, one for /, and one for /boot.

It makes it easy, so that I can just copy the contents of the old disk to the new disk(s), and then boot with a rescue floppy after removing the old disk, and install a bootblock.  I don't know how to do that with windows or OS X, but the boxes that those are on are generally left alone anyhow.

Any OS that requieres the 10 or so CLI commands I discovered needing to install it http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/gentoo-x86-install.xml (Gentoo, one that I choose because it was suposed to be newbe freindly) is WAY far from being mature for anything but a novelty or a server farm.
I love Linux's promise but it needs to grow past having a 1978 era installer.

Gentoo really ISN'T particularly newbie friendly if you're scared of a little typing... They make distro's like Red Hat and Mandrake just for you..

That comment about the "fear of typing" really zeros in on Linuxs most basic flaw, all modern, user friendly OSs introduced in the last 20 years have taken great pains to avoid making users resort to the CLI to do simple functions like basic disk formatting and partitioning or network setups. Its like I haven't had a motorcycle in the last 2 decades that dident have an electric starter.
The CLI arrogance of the Linux(unix) cognoscenti may be very satisfying personally but is holding the whole movement back.
Well, I spent 3 days reading Linux forums all over the place and the general opinion seemed to be that Gentoo was the most NOOB friendly. so excuse me.
I downloaded Mandrake, all 3 CD images and I am damned if I could even find one useful read me file or something like a "Click here to install".
I am not going to pretend I am anything like a computer master but I know more than 99% of the people I know so if I cant figure out a simple OS install its pretty hopeless.
Linux on the desktop????
That's just pathetic.
Maybe in 10 years

And at the same time its also its greatest asset. Would you rather lose all that power and flexibility so everything can/has to be done with a mouse?

A lot of linux users enjoy using a CLI, at least from time to time.. otherwise they'd be using something a bit more 'user friendly'.

Not to be mean, but if you can't figure out how to install redhat or mandrake, with their walkthrough style GUI installers, you probably won't enjoy using linux anyway.

The only way Gentoo is newbie friendly is in its docs, which are really quite good.

Ah yes the POWER and Flexibility.
Man I remember the old DOS guys saying that that too.
GUI's have just destroyed computing!
Click and drag is so cumbersome!! Why not just type <insert 400 characters of arcane commands>
I hear that comment all the time from UNIX types and have yet to see even so much as one example sited to justify that comment. Its like a random comment that doesn't mean anything.
How would the CLI do anything for me as a home user and digital photography content creator?? Will it make me smarter? More creative? How would a CLI improve my work flow? Seriously I am curious. Would it help me color correct 400 pics in a batch? Or compress that same series to 800x600 at 50% jpg compression without a resource fork preview for posting to a website?? Give me one single example of what a CLI could do for me.

If Mandrake has a GUI installer it is well hidden because before I answered your post I went back to the Mandrake 9.1 disks I downloaded and found Nothing on any of the 3 disks I down loaded that resembled an installer.
Maybe the retail version is better.
Honestly I was looking to Linux as a possible alternative to enslaved OS's like Windows Or the Mac but it doesn't look like Linux is ready for prime time.
Not yet anyway.