kinda of a mixture of the two, actually. I'm interested in kernel hacking, so I'll probably be doing a bit of that, and I value the experience and knowledge of many other AO members so, I'd like to get at least a baseline of progs to become familiar with, and see what would be the best to start on. Considering that most linux distros come with 5 or more versions of the same thing (such as webserver or office programs), There is ALOT to sort through to decide what is best. I ask for suggestions in part to acquire a starting point.