Advice as to which distro for both Desktop and Servers for long time Windows user

I am a relative newbie to Linux, but a long time user of windows I started
with release 1.03. I also have nearly 40yrs in IT (programmer, architect
and DBA).

I have several machines typically 512 Mb memory, AMD Athlon XP processor
and nVidia Graphics. I have two, which I am using as servers with 1Tb raid
5 each, running Fedora (6 or 7), configured as DNS, Apache, NFS and MySQL
servers. The rest have an average disk size of 80 GB. They are running W2K,
WinXP, and Mandriva (Gnome) as desktop PCs. The family uses the desktops
for such things as VOIP, iTunes, IM and general office functions. I also
use my machine to design home improvement projects.

I have tried Centos 4.3, Debian 4, Fedora 6 and 7RC1, Mandriva 10.2 and
2007.1, Suse 10.2, and Unbuntu xx and found each of them to be awkward to
use and setup. Part of the problem is the plethora of apps that come with
them; which apps are any good, which are "essential", etc?

Bearing in mind that:
a) I am not too comfortable with the CLI interface (too many years with
windows). Therefore, I would prefer a GUI interface even for the servers.
b) Fedora amongst others discourages the use of "proprietary"
software/drivers. I have found that this means apps like Beryl do not work.
Is there a way round this?
c) My lack of experience with Linux means that I need a distro with "good"
up to date documentation. Particularly documentation aimed at the server
end of things

Is Fedora the best choice for the servers, bearing in mind what I want to
do?
Is there a better choice for the desktop?
Would somebody recommend a good "book" on Linux and its systems?

TIA

ANO
--

All great things are simple, and many can be expressed in single words:
freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.
Sir Winston Churchill
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Need tutorials, guides... However...
    ... performance loss you'll get from an OS like Windows or Linux. ... machines out there have gone off in many different directions. ... expect to find certain hardware at certain addressess. ...
    (alt.lang.asm)
  • Re: Linux is as buggy as Windows
    ... > gives his opinion and you attack him too. ... Not just Linux, so don't think I'm ... > and details what I've already suspected and stated countless times before- that Micro$oft is playing BigBrother at its Windows Update Sites. ... databases, spread-sheets, games, webservers, ftp servers, secure-shell ...
    (comp.security.misc)
  • Re: M$ attack on Common Sense
    ... > (Note that not all Unix virii can effect Linux and vice versa, ... > virii, if you don't run Windows, you don't need to be doing that, now do ... Compare machines AND take into consideration what they are for. ... Install means changing the system so the program will run. ...
    (comp.os.linux.misc)
  • Re: M$ attack on Common Sense
    ... > (Note that not all Unix virii can effect Linux and vice versa, ... > virii, if you don't run Windows, you don't need to be doing that, now do ... Compare machines AND take into consideration what they are for. ... Install means changing the system so the program will run. ...
    (alt.computer.security)
  • Re: M$ attack on Common Sense
    ... > (Note that not all Unix virii can effect Linux and vice versa, ... > virii, if you don't run Windows, you don't need to be doing that, now do ... Compare machines AND take into consideration what they are for. ... Install means changing the system so the program will run. ...
    (comp.os.ms-windows.nt.admin.security)