kanotix HD installation

[Rocky Ou]

Hey list,

I'm a newbie to linux. By googling and friends recomendation, It seems debian will be my best choice. Did anyone do the Kanotix HD installation before? If so could you give me some advise? I want to have a dual-boot system on my Dell inspiron 2200 laptop.

Where can I get resources to grasb the basic philosiphy of Debian. What is /etc /var etc directory mean. Why Debian has so many directories instead of one? What's the information in the respective directory?

If any body could give me some advise on learning to use Debian wisely, I would appreciate it?

Thanks in advance!