Very well said and I agree with you for the most part including your feeling toward Gnome. Fortunately I did not have any trouble installing kubuntu 8.10, Qt-4.4.1 or Kdevelop..

I also used debian (woody) and fedora up to 4, when it couldn't find my printer. (I also prefer deb to rpm).

But when ubuntu 8.10 found my wireless browser and allowed me to turn it on with a click, It kind of turned me on.

I am an engineer and I look on my computer, the way I look at a pencil sharpener. I got in to programming because of a fundamental flaw in CAD programs..

I look at all programs from a users point of view. If it take more then a day or two to learn how to use a program then the programmer didn't do his job.

I spent several days with kubuntu 8.10 and still had problems, but I only spent about 2 hours and had every thing at hand with Ubuntu 8.10. This was before I loaded Qt. of course. Even Amarok was easier to setup then in Kubuntu.

Good Luck