Back to GNU/Linux. I have tried many different persuasions, flavors or distributions. This is the list of those that I have tried in no particular order: Knoppix, Suse, Redhat (before Fedora), Slackware, Puppy Linux, Quantian, Scientific, Vector, Mepis, Arch Linux, Zenwalk, Zenserver, and Ubunutu. I have tried both 32bit and 64bit versions of some of these. Most of these I do not like.
I like most of all SuSe. It is, i think, the easiest to use on a desktop and have most everything work at the start. It is also polished nicely and settings/administration functions are put together nicely in YAST.
Slackware is the oldest continuously updated distribution. It can also be the most different/difficult for someone just cutting their teeth. It is stable and a good way for a newbie wanting to learn. The user is forced, more than other distros, to dig in and understand the nuts and bolts of how things work in GNU/Linux. That is a good thing. I learned a lot by using it.
Knoppix was another very useful distro. As a full linux distro on a CD without installation, it was a novelty when it first hit the market but is still nice to have on hand to repair, hack a system or have on hand to demo it to someone new to GNU/Linux. With the last few releases Knoppix has gotten big enough that it is downloadable as a DVD. You can get stripped down versions of it onto a CD but it is not the same. I am not sure if that is due to KDE getting bigger, wanting more packages to be included, or why.
I have tried various spin offs that are in the -buntu world. They are just not for me. To me they seem almost contrite and forced. There are also a lot of annoying users. That said, the forums and helps that have been put together are a great help to the rest of us too.