Although at this point in Linux distros I am the most familiar with RedHat 5/6/7, somewhat familiar with Mandrake and Debian I make it a point not to recommend one distro over another (unless you plan to make an internet server out of it). The reason for this is no matter which distro you pick, once it's installed you have basically the same underlying software, and if you don't you can get what's missing and install it on the others very easily. When people say one distro is easier than another, they really should say "the installation process is easier on X than on Y distro".
Having said that, though all distros are made up from the same basic software packages (with a few distro specific additions) they all don't have the same default configuration of those softare packages once installed which is why you may spend more time upgrading the indivual packages and reconfiguring and securing one distro over another when it comes to using as an Internet server. There is no distro out there that ships in a secure configuration. Some take a lot more work than others to tighten up.
[ December 10, 2001: Message edited by: VoidMain ]
