Hi Nick.
So lets see....
Debian is the _real_ non-commercial Linux.
It contains solely free Software which stands in contrast to Distributions like SuSE (hint: Novell...)
Of each Debian Distribution there are always three Versions available.
The Stable Release:
This is the Version you should use as beginner
(I do so too...)
The Testing Release:
This is the one which will be the next Stable Release but has still to be tested.
and last but not least the Unstable version:
This is a version that still has got to be developed
The last one is something for Hackers...
/* I tried to get it on my laptop but it just wont work
*/
The Main Argument why I use Debian is that its really FREE ("Free as in Free Speech, not as in Free Beer")
Greets,
Jan