[tlug] Good binary distribution

[Jake Morrison <jake_morrison@example.com>]

I am a big Gentoo fan, but sometimes need a good binary
distribution for smaller machines, firewalls, etc. 
Any recommendations?

I have found Debian to be a real pain to install due
to its excessively long release cycles. A few days ago
I tried to install it on a new box but gave up in the
end because the 2.2 kernel didn't support any of the four
LAN cards I had handy (onboard Intel EEPRO, another recent 
Intel EEPRO, EEPRO 1000, tulip clone). But I would like 
to run Debian if I could find a good way to install it 
and get it updated. Knoppix seems like an interesting 
way to get Debian  installed, but I understand that the HD
install is too big and messy for a firewall. 
 
Arch Linux seems interesting. Anyone have experience with it?

Jake