In the past week I've gotten word from both Scott and MC that they're both interested in rocking Linux on the Desktop. For MC it's because he's sick of the spyware, crashes, and virii that are so inextricably tied to the Windows platform, and for Scott I believe it's because he's tired of Windows and wants to learn about the exciting new world of Teh Lunix.

Anywho, I thought I'd combine both needs and have a Linux install night at my house. I was thinking this weekend, not for any particular reason other than its temporal proximity to right now, but if the parties are interested but would like to reschedule, that's copacetic. Of course, if anyone else is interested in Linux and has a machine they'd want it on, you're all welcome too. You are also welcome if you just want to hang out and drink beer, which will be happening in parallel to the installs.

I've been asking around and it seems like the distro of choice for people first getting their feet wet is a toss up between Ubuntu Linux and Mandriva Linux (formerly Mandrake). I've heard that both are rather friendly distros without going off the deep end like Lycoris or Linspire (both of which require paid subscription services to get any use out of them at all). The opposite end of the spectrum would be my distro of choice, Gentoo, but giving that to them would be like selling a person their first car and then giving them a pile of parts, a wrench, and a manual. A bit overwhelming for your first time out.

I've burned Ubuntu (or more specifically Kubuntu, Ubuntu with KDE instead of Gnome), and I'm about to install it on a test machine to see what it's like. I haven't installed or maintained a distro other than Gentoo in about three years, so I'm well past due to see what's out there these days.

Comments? Questions?