Linux: The great distro hunt

Before my mission, I was a Linux geek.  I had a distro dual-booted on my system.  I had a system at home running that I would ssh into from BYU.  I had installed video drivers by hand back before it was easy.  I even compiled my own kernel.  OK, so, maybe that qualifies me as a Linux 'script kiddy' more than an experienced user.  Still, I kinda knew what I was doing.  After my mission I booted a liveCD once or twice, but never really got into it.  Then at work I heard that we would be switching from Netware to SuSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES).  I decided it was time to dust off my Linux skills and get back in the game.  I started learning SLES because a) that's what we'd be using and b) that's what we had training materials for.  This has re-introduced me to the world of Linux.  This is the introduction to my journey.

Back then, I was an Ubuntu guy.  When Ubuntu 4.10 came out, I was running a Debian Sarge installation.  I'd been a RedHat fan up til then, but RPM "Dependancy Hell" drove me to the apt-get system, one of my favorite package managers to date.  SuSE was not a distro I'd been really exposed to- at a Novell-sponsored competition for my Tech Center CCNA class (right after Novell bought SuSE) I'd won a full version of SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 but I'd never done a whole lot with it- the installation was a pain the gluteus maximus.  I loved the configurability of a Debian net install- 'apt-get install kde' was an awesome process to observe.  Ubuntu gave me the power of apt-get with the polished GUI that I'd experienced in RedHat, but the non-standard runlevels and deactivated-by-default root account bugged me.  Nevertheless, I learned to live with Ubuntu.

Fast forward three years- Ubuntu has taken the Linux world by storm; Novell and Microsoft have come to an agreement on cross-licensing and cross-patents, etc; Ubuntu has several different split-offs of it's own; and RedHat is staying on the bleeding edge with Fedora.  Most everything I knew has changed- automatic dual boot setups w/Windows was one of the exciting features of Ubuntu- now it's totally common.  Gnome has come into it's own, Open Office is nearly as good as M$ Office, and the Wine project has finally released version 1.0.

So, here's what I want in a distro, in loose order of importance:

1. Package Management- resolves dependancies automatically, provides decent feedback
   
2. Sticking with standards- standard runlevels, enable root account, etc
3. Support for non-OSS software- Sorry, Stallman. It's a non-OSS world. Deal with it.
   
4. Good Community Support- forums, wikis, how-to's, etc
5. Polished GUI- OS X is a hard standard to match, but kudos to whomever comes closest
   
6. Support for virtualization

In the next few weeks, I'll be going through several different distros to see what works best 

for me. Like everything else I review, I'll tell you what I like, what I don't like, and why. This is

all about what works for me, so your mileage may vary.