[thelist] Advice on choosing a Linux distro

[Andy Warwick]

Risking a holy war, I know, but could anyone with a wide Linux
experience of different distros identify a good one for a Linux
semi-beginner.

Situation:

Primary machine is a Mac, running OS 10.2.3. I've just ordered a Dell
running XP Professional, primarily to test web pages in a Windows
environment, so I can check they appear and work as they should for the
target audience.

I'd also like to use the Dell as a dual boot, to run a Linux distro for
testing and for various other sundry server and developmental uses.

I'm *fairly* comfortable with Mac OS X command line, and my level of
knowledge is -- I guess -- of keen-to-learn novice. I'm starting to
understand stuff like CVS and Apache on a conceptual level rather than
just following tutorials verbatim. It's not second nature yet, but I'm
sure it will be soon.

I've considered installing Darwin, but don't know how
stable/polished/supported it is; but by doing so would be -- in theory
-- 100% compatible with OS X.

I've also looked, albeit briefly, at Mandrake, Debian and Red Hat.

Some flavor of BSD is also a possibility.

Can anyone summarize the pros/cons of each distro, and which might be
best for me?

TIA

--
Andy Warwick

Creed New Media Design, Nottingham, UK
[t] +44 (0)115 8476867
[w] <http://www.creed.co.uk/src/evolt/index.htm>