[zoff]

Im a newbie and I've given up on dowloading Linux CD's. Im buying them instead so ... any suggestions as to which distribution to try? I need office software so openoffice will be good to have. I think I will try Kubuntu, Puppy (for an older Pentium 2 machine), Gnoppix and Knoppix Math. I need a distro with dial-up software so i can access this site , web browser , and other software we are accustomed to in Windows. Thanks.

[killah]

I would go Ubuntu, one of the best I have used

[lynch]

Where do you live? Perhaps someone would mail you some CDs.
lynch

[zoff]

Whats the diff between ubuntu and kubuntu?

I live in the usa and id be happy to pay for the live cd's. With the 4 I mentioned the cost is about $12 plus shipping.

Rather than purchase them randomly, what I would need is some end-user feedback on distributions they have used and how they differ from others, what was impressive about them etc. Whats special about them? They say Puppy is for beginners so Im getting that. I anticipate questions on how I use my PC. Well i go online, surf, shop, email, have a few work-related programs. Thanks.

[CouchMaster]

When you run KDE desktop on Ubuntu it's called Kubuntu - other than that it is the same distro. I've had good times with Kubuntu but switched to SimplyMepis (Mepis and Ku/U buntu are very alike) because it just works better on my computer. My main box runs SuSE 9.3 which is a full blown Linux distro backed by Novel.
I tried installing Puppy once but was frustrated by its installation method - it said that I needed a 4th. partition blah, blah, blah - so I installed DSL instead, which went right on the HD.
Puppy is the fastest distro I've ever run though so I keep a CD around just for fun but only use it live.
Ubuntu will send you CDs free including postage so I would contact them and buy another distro with the $12 bucks - then you would have 5 .....
Just experiment and you will find what works best for you.