I've tried a couple of linux distros over the years but in the end I've always found myself stuck in some way and unable to do much more than a little exploring. Call me lazy or ignorant probably both but comand lines may be powerful but only if you know how to drive them. I couldn't even get myself conected to the net. And trying to get anything done was a mission. I have been reading how far linux distro's have come so I'll give Kubunto a go. I'd really like to build myself a media PC to watch and record tv and to store my music etc as well as surfing the net. I have no intention to use Vista due to the ristrictions it puts on my ability to control my own pc and its draconian DRM. I could continue to use Win 2k but a there must be a linux disro out there that is designed fot media center use but what is it and do I need a beard to run it?

A word of warning about Automatix: It often plays havoc with the package system, so if you plan on doing an in-situ upgrade to the next version of (K)Ubuntu when it comes out, don't use Automatix.

Medibuntu is a better behaved alternative, though admittedly not (quite) as easy - www.medibuntu.org.

Agreed. Ubuntu is doing an excellent job of grabbing desktops away from Windows. Vista is an absolute joke - if I were a Microsoft dev, I'd be ashamed of working for a company that released such crud. If there was ever any "value-add" in installing Windows, it has long since gone. Windows (and MS for that matter) is now rapidly becoming irrelevant.