I've been using Kubuntu for several months now as I like it's interface
better than the Gnome shell of Ubuntu. I think the "remix" is for the more
adventurous who are prepared to do more fiddling to get it to work properly.
Personally I'd stick with 8:04 as it should be a more mature product, but
it's up to you. Community support means no "official" support.

I like Gnome, but then I am not keen on bells and whistles, but Ubuntu
offers different shells.

Thanks for your replies. It's not that i don't like gnome but after
one has used fedora or suse you look for the same sort of 'polish'.
While ubuntu is more stable and has good package management other
distros seem to look much better. But then rpm package management i
want to stay away from.

Regarding different shells what would you recommend or what are you
using - i have tried fluxbox and something else but then had problems
and gave up after a couple of reinstallations.

Looks and beauty are in the eye of the beholder! Have you had a look at
LinuxMint (http://www.linuxmint.com/)? It's based on Ubuntu with all the
advantages of that, but, IMHO, with a bit more polish and better looking. It
contains many of the multimedia codecs as standard.

After looking over the pics of Linux Mint, I would have to agree with
you. I think the menu of it is completely unorganized compared to
Ubuntu that it makes the entire thing look like crap.

I was going to give linuxmint a try. I've been experimenting this
afternoon with blackbox, icewm and windowmaker this afternoon. I just
wish kubuntu was as good looking as fedora or suse.

Speaking of other distros, is there a good one that comes with either
afterstep or windowmaker as default? I would love to use that distro
for when I need to get a lot of work done and don't want a lot of other
distractions.

You can change themes with Gnome quite easily and add features such as wallpaper
changers and make the panel transparent, add applets and screenlets. With the
addition of Compiz Fusion, AWN and Emerald you would hardly recognize it.
Gnome can be made to look like Vista or OS/X or you can make it look like Gnome,
which many prefer just as it is. If customizing Gnome is not your thing try
changing the desktop by installing KDE, XFCE or Enlightenment. It all depends
what your expectations are and your determination level. With Linux almost
anything is possible.

After my experimenting yesterday i didn't seem to get far with
alternative desktops. I experimented with themes and got rid of the
top menu bar remaining with a customised bottom bar (shame on me for
going a bit windows like but i'm used to it).

Where can one change to make it Vista or XP looking? Not that i want
it to look to look like that! just wondering if i've been looking in
the right places.

Well, I tend to do the opposite. Whether in Gnome or KDE I put the menu bar at
the top just because I am contrary minded, I guess.

You can get themes for Gnome from art.gnome.org and gnome-look.org. If you add
KDE you can get even more customization and the menu bar is at the bottom by
default. It is more Windows-like by nature and has more features. If you stick
with Gnome you can add Emerald and get more themes that change your decorations,
but that means using Compiz which I do because I have loads of RAM and a 3D
graphics card. Any fairly new computer should be able to handle it. If you are
using something a few years old then stick with Gnome or KDE and customize it
instead of adding resource hogging features which is fun, but can be a
distraction.

I have the duel log in for Ubuntu so I can use Gnome or KDE as my
desktop. I also have the bar at the top because there is does a lot
less obstruction.

I prefer the bar at the top for the same reason. I find it easier to use as well
because I use AWN at the bottom in Compiz or if running Windows in Virtualbox in
seamless mode I can have a Windows bar at the bottom and Gnome/KDE bar at the
top. Having it in the same place whether in Gnome or KDE makes sense as you
always know where to look.

I am using Gnome for now, but I switch back and forth and after years I still
can't make up my mind. I like both, for different reasons. I appreciate each one
more after using the other as I see their individuality better.We are lucky to
have two (and more) great desktops to choose from.