S.u.S.E Linux distribution (http://www.suse.com) is very popular in Europe. It surely looks German--a solid, general-purpose distro with an easy setup and an excellent reputation. Many users swear by SuSe. We couldn't find cheap Suse CDs though but it appears you can download it (I cannot find a link). Their product includes propriatory additions that will satisfy enterprise-level need to interface some popular propriatory applications (MS Exchange, Cross-over office, etc).
Slackware seems to be favorite among "hard-core hackers" who like customizing scripts. We would have trouble recommending Slackware for Linux newbies unless the newbie likes to feel cool. Our reviewer Bill Staehle says: "The real 'reason' for a newbie to avoid Slackware is that it is much more command line oriented, and lacks some of the 'cutsie slick and drool' tools that the other distributions have." We received feedback from Linux newbies who use Slackware and it works very well for them. It seems that Slackware is relatively simple and cool because of the lack of automation. Therefore, with a bit of effort, a computer-literate administrator can actually understand what is going in her operating system (this is not something I can always say about Mandrake, or MS Windows for that matter).
Knoppix Linux (http://www.knoppix.net) is another distribution worth consideration. The main point of Knoppix is that it is a "live distro", i.e., it can be booted from a CD, without installation. This is excellent for trying Linux (if you like it, you can also install Knoppix on the hard drive). It is also makes a perfect disaster-recovery tool (distro on a CD is also safe because no malicious program can do anything to your executables, and non-invasive for the local storage as required for post-mortem analyses). Knoppix is also useful if you have to work under Linux on sombody elses computer: you insert Knoppix CD into the CDdrive, and perhaps exteral storage on the usb port (for personal storage), and you are all set to work in your own environment. When done, you take your chips home. You can mount the local computer resources if you have to. Interesting tool.
Gentoo seems to have some strong following. In Gentoo (hearsay, never used it), they have a cool installation/upgrade system which does anything from sources (a local compilation is required). Long compilations can be joy to watch but, well, they can take time. The resulting executables are taylored to your hardware so they are perhaps smaller or faster than those on a more-standard "already cooked" (binary) Linux distribution.
Corel was once working on their own Linux distribution apparently geared towards a nice and easy platform to run the Corel suite of office applications: WordPerfect wordprocessor, QuattroPro spreadsheet, Corel Presentations, Paradox database, CorelDraw artist package.... The Corel Linux was based on the Debian distribution. It looked initially very promissing, but it is unclear to me what Corel has done with it (was paid by Microsoft to drop it?). In brief, Corel Linux is dead now, and I would never recommend it to anybody because it it a dead-end. The only reason to mention it here is that Corel Linux once received lots of publicity, so you may still hear about it. It seems like a sad story, particularly for Canadians.
Caldera was once another well-known distribution. It was said to be aiming at corporate users, had a fancy (and pricey) configuration tools, and other corporate goodies. In Aug.2000, Caldera purchased SCO Unix (the original trademarked ancient UNIX) which gave them an even more "corporate" look in my eyes. Caldera did not seem to care too much about home Linux users, so I never considered it for my home use. In early 2003, Caldera (renamed SCO) evidently swiched to different, perhaps more profitable, business model ("fire programmers, hire lawyers"). I will surely stay clear of anything that might bear the name SCO or Caldera on
