I will attempt to address a number of issues you have brought up: 1. Hardware detection: Nearly every distribution can detect hardware. The differences come down to configuration methods and placement of files. The other difference is installation of pre-packaged bianaries. (One other note, I would recomend not I repeat not going with RedHat 7 as there could be some compatibility problems with libraries and why invite such potential problems starting out?) 2. Booting from CD, or dealing with posible floppy, CD swap problems. If you have access to a CDROM burner, you can make your own bootable CD that uses the correct kernel. If this isn't an option, then you will want to select either Debian or Slackware. Debian allows downloading most of the files. Slackware is laid out in such a manner that installing most things from floppy is doable. (Though it will mean a lot of floppys going through the drive.) 3. Selecting a distribution because your ISP uses it makes no sense. Having said that, I think Debian can give you all the benifits of RedHat and a whole lot more. First, you can install a version of RPM that will install RPMs without problem (though it is not the recomended means as that doesn't update the dpkg database). Second, you can install linuxconf the main program for administering your machine. This is a great program and I highly recomend it. You can add users, setup your network, and a whole lot more. For ease of administration I haven't found anything that beats Linuxconf. While RedHat came out with it, thanks to GPL you can easily add it to Debian. (And the package is ready to go.) The latest Debian will allow you to accept a default install that sets up most things needed. It finds PCMCIA if you have it (and removes it if you don't). You can easily install it using a PPP acount if you can't bot a floppy then mount a CD. ======= Kirk Wood Cpt.Kirk at 1tree.net
