Re: [LUG] Linux Distributions

It is not the easiest distro to install and has little going for it
looks wise.

That's complete bunk. Debian installs as easily as Ubuntu did prior to version 6.06, because they used the same installer. Ubuntu still uses this same installer for everything except the desktop cd, and doesn't offer a netinst disc. Furthermore, the fact that sarge has gnome 2.8 does not mean that it has little going for it looks-wise: no bugger uses sarge on a desktop, and etch has gnome 2.14 and clearlooks (same as and better than respectively Ubuntu.)

Nothing wrong with the look 'n' feel, but nothing great
either. And while not rubbish at detecting hardware it is not as good as
some others - ubuntu among them.

This is because the stable distribution has a 2.4 kernel by default.
This is because it's stable, something Ubuntu seems to have trouble with recently... as I said before, nobody uses stable on a desktop, and etch has kernel 2.6.18.

Stick with ubuntu if you find it works
for you. If there is a debian live disk you might check it out, but I
don't think there is.

It's called knoppix...

Debian is not the most user friendly distro out
there. As for the billions of applications you could install, unless you
have some really specialist requirement which is particularly tricky to
install and of which Debian is the only distro with a pre-built package,
they make no odds really.

Debian includes many helpful programs that Ubuntu would force me to compile myself, including a gazillion Gaim plugins and a recent version of lilypond. It definitely is not worthless to have more software in the repos.

I'm not a big ubuntu fan myself. Personally I go for pclinuxos which I
find excellent in terms of look 'n' feel and really good on hardware
detection. There is a live disk version of it so you could have a look
if interested. The makers have put a lot of effort into making it user
friendly, particularly for linux newbies, but then so has the ubuntu
team. A matter of taste really.

By "looks good" you must mean either KDE or the default GTK/metacity theme, totally subjectively; by "user friendly" you presumably mean "windows-like" which is due to KDE and not necessarily a good thing...

I know that ethos behind a distro is important, but the builders of
pclinuxos, ubuntu, kpoppix, DSL etc etc are hardly running lap dogs of
the capitalist hyiena. The purity of the Debian teams vision and
commitment is its great strength, not its looks or ease of use.

Debian has these advantages over the other distros mentioned, true - it is also as easy to use and looks exactly the same as anything else with GNOME 2.14 and Clearlooks, or whatever KDE version comes with it. If you're unable to distinguish between a distribution and its desktop environment, I suggest you do not go about recommending anything...