I'm trying a different Linux distribution. I am running a Celeron 667MHz computer with 512MB RAM. I had been using Fedora Core 6.
What I loved about Red Hat's Fedora Core 6:
1. Installation was a snap with 6 CDs I got from OSDISC.com.
2. Networked to my Windows network and wireless Internet router without any intervention from me. Wow!
3. Pretty interface and straight-forward
What I didn't like:
1. I didn't set up my partitions right, so I couldn't see anything from my Windows PC. My fault.
2. Couldn't install most current version of OpenOffice. Don't know why.
3. Heck of a time playing flash through Firefox. Finally figured it out with forum post.
Tried OpenSuSE 10.2
Results
The OpenSuSE installation could not display the graphical installation method. I don't know why. Fedora had no problem with this. This was out of the chute, with no way for me to tweak settings. Then, after installation, I was never asked to set a username or password. On initial boot, I was asked for a username and password, and could not log in. Yes, I tried canceling and leaving them blank. I checked the installation instructions. By the way, there didn't appear to be any official installation instructions. The main site passed me off to some individual's attempt at installation instructions with lots of misspellings and grammatical errors.. These were geared to the graphical installation. Those instructions indicated that I should have been prompted to set a root password during installation. So, I never had that prompt and could never log in. I decided to try to install again. (takes 2 hours). But, I still didn't get the graphical method, so thus ends my relationship with OpenSuSE.
Then I tried Ubuntu:
Results:
Wow! Easiest installation ever. One CD burned from ISO image. Installed in less than 20 minutes without any interaction from me. Dare I try to start Firefox and see what happens? Here I am typing this journal after less than 40 minutes of starting my Ubuntu installation. Double Wow! Ubuntu, I love you. I hope the rest of my testing goes this well.

My latest project is to convert some old VHS tapes to DVD. I don't have many, but I don't want to rebuy them. I have a KWorld TV Tuner through which I can connect a VCR. On the DVD end, I have a Lacie DVD writer that I got for Christmas.
My first huge hurdle was to capture the VHS movie to the computer. I would love to have been able to do a direct burn from capture device to the DVD writer. The writer came with some Roxio software with this feature, but it doesn't seem to work. It doesn't like the way the video is captured. I'm guessing that it must capture in a way that will move straight to DVD without a lot of compressing or recoding.
I realize that I must copy to Hard Drive and then to DVD. The first problem is to figure out what format to use for the capture. AVI, WMV, MPEG? I tried several with lots of options. The bottom line is that any way I try to capture, I end up with audio and video out of sync by the end of the movie. None of the software I have (PVR that came with the capture device, Windows Movie Maker, Final Burner, Roxio) will manage audio/video syncing. So, I found a free program on the Net, VirtualDub, that will keep them in sync. This program seems to only capture in AVI. So, the choice is made. I will capture in AVI.
Now, I have to recode the file into MPEG so that I can burn it to DVD.
Windows Movie Maker won't burn a movie to DVD.
Roxio is broken without downgrading IE to version 6 (according to Roxio's website).
Final Burner doesn't give me any control over the size of the video, and it seems to wind up too big for a single DVD.
PVR Plus which comes with the Kworld capture card seems to have enough options to tweak the size. The problem is that there is no estimate for file size, so I have to use trial and error (at 3 hours a pop).
So, I am trying an encode at the moment. Then, I will try a burn. Fingers crossed.

Here are my problems with Red Hat's Fedora Core 6.

1. I cannot get a printer installed. I am trying to install a Lexmark z23. I realize it is not the best printer, and Linux support is iffy. However, I can't seem to get anything to happen. I have read hundreds of FAQs, forums, and documentation. I have tried CUPS, foomatic, whatever. I keep running into errors. Every time I get one fixed, another pops up. If I manage to get through installation without an error, it still won't print. The print queue hangs with nothing happening. No document from Fedora, LinxPrinting.org, or Lexmark has all the instructions for my needs. I have to piece the instructions together and cross my fingers. Nothing.

2. Now, I can't login as root. After I try, it begins to start the session, but hangs. I have no idea how to recover. I have learned that laying on the keyboard eventually returns me to session login screen.

3. I can't get a Windows network share to mount at boot up. As with the printers. I have checked forum after forum. Each one gives me slightly more/different information. I have tried every combination possible of every suggestion, and it still won't work. I can mount it from Konsole after boot up, but not during boot up.

I have spent hours and hours and weeks and weeks trying to get these things to work. It is too frustrating. Even if I pay $300 for a decent version of Vista, I will save that in the hours and hours I have spent trying to make linux work. I am an IT professional. I make $40/hour. I have spent over 50 hours trying to get linux to do what Windows will do out of the box. That is $2000 worth of my time. I give up!

Question for the Slashdot community:
I'm sure you enjoy looking at screenshots for new applications, operating systems, and window managers. The best screenshots are ones that show multiple windows opened at once. It gives the appearance of advanced productivity, style, and increased screen realestate. However, in a real world environment, I don't find myself arranging multiple windows and interacting between them. What about you? Are you a multiple window kind of person, or do you like to focus on one window at a time and make it as large as possible?

I just started using Linux last week. I took an old 667MHz machine, increased RAM to 512MB and added an extra 100GB hard drive. I tried some live Distros and then some 1CD installs. Most weren't as full featured as I would have liked. In most cases, I could not get the networking set up the way I wanted.
I am connected to a Windows XP machine with a crossover ethernet cable. The XP machine has a wireless adapter that connects to a hot spot for the Internet. It was pretty easy for the two cabled machines to see each other. Getting on the Internet from the Linux box was a nightmare. In XP, I assumed I had to set the wireless connection to share the Internet connection. But, I didn't know what else I needed to do from either machine.
Damn Small Linux live distro made it happen automatically. Wow! I don't know how and I don't care so much. I think it was having the right IP address set up for the gateway. To get all the features I wanted, I decided to try Red Hat Fedora Core 6. I ordered the CDs, because I didn't have the time to download 5 GB.
Fedora installed amazingly well. During network configuration, I took a stab at all the right parameters. I don't know if I did it right, or if Fedora made some intelligent modifications to my entries, but it does work. I can surf the Internet from Firefox in Fedora. Way to go, Red Hat!