Starting with Linux

[Tom and Esther Ward]

Hi,
when it comes to choosing a Linux distribution you'll have to think about
what you want that Linux distribution to be like.
 Some distributions such as Mandrake have a very good out of the box
configuration that generally works on all computers and does not require
alot of customisation unless you are the kind who likes doing that sort of
thing.Mandrake has a huge selection of apps, and has a MS Windows look and
feel to it which is very apealing to users of Windows looking at linux.
Other distributions such as Debian are geared for the Linux absolutist who
likes to totally configure everything for his/her system, and I feel is
aimed for the serious Linux gurus.
Basically, you can put distributions in to catagories. The Popular Linux
distros Fedora, Mandrake, Suse that handhold you through alot of the setup
and help you get it running. The other catagory is less known distros that
for one reason or another don't come with all the frills, and don't do alot
of handholding.
The last catagory is Linux distributions that include alot of accessibility
apps out of the box. Mandrake includes gnopernicus, brltty, and there is an
emacspeak rpm floating around. Others like Slackware come with emacspeak,
speakup, and I am not sure what else. So check the distribution of choice
for what accessibility features or packages it has.