PCLinuxOS 2010

PCLinuxOS is designed for x86 desktops and laptops.
PCLinuxOS is called PCLOS "for short" and was created by "Texstar"
PCLOS is now available with a script called mylivecd, which allows the user to take a ’snapshot’ of their current hard drive installation (all settings, applications, documents, etc.) and compress it into an ISO CD/DVD image. This is in order to make a backup Live CD/DVD and to backup all info contained on the HD.

What I liked:

Texstar and the team make a reliable and stable system that is easy to use.
Dolphin File Manager was awesome, highly configurable and fast.
The Network Center for easy(?) configuration of internet connections.
Very nice new logo with a bull in the middle of the PCLOS circle and nice artwork.

What I didn't like:

I never was able to connect to the internet using my ethernet (DSL) connection. In the network center, it is listed as detected and connected but no connection was ever made. This occurred in both the KDE and Gnome versions of PCLOS.
I also was unable to configure the sound properly. I tried several fixes and even looked up the issues of this and the internet issue because I wanted this to work but I just couldn't solve the problems. If I can't, a newbie sure couldn't.
I don't like KDE desktop much but there is a Gnome edition, if one can get it to work properly.

Summary:

I really, really, really wanted this review to go well mainly because of the fact that I had been waiting a long time to try out the new version of PCLOS and my second ever Linux distro was in fact PCLOS 2007, which worked beautifully..but the lack of sound and internet made it into a dealbreaker. If I couldn't fix these issues, a newbie would not be able to do so. In addition, although PCLOS 2010 both major desktops had some nice looks to them, it wasn't really anything new and nothing made me say wow. I give it a B+ for appearance and I'm sorry but I have to assign a C- for ease of use for a newb.