install parties?

Hi,

I have heard rumors that you guys throw installation parties every so
often...is this true?

I would love to have someone help me get my system working right...I just
need all of the hardware set up so it works....for some reason Mandrake
wouldn't install, so I had to go with Slackware. Slackware is nice as it
has all of the latest stuff, but it doesn't quite work "out of the box"
like Mandrake does, and after spending two solid days with it I just got
frustrated, I'm sure if someone else knows what they are doing better
perhaps they could help me with all my hardware? I would /really/
appreciate it.

I'm not a newbie, but this is the first time I've gone after replacing my
whole desktop system with Linux; I have set up dedicated systems before,
but this is my first attempt to really make the switch to Linux and stop
using Windows on my home desktop system....so I would like things such as
my scrolling mouse wheel to work, sound, USB keyboard, etc. Perhaps also
my scanner/digital camera/printer as well, but what I really need is to
just be able to get to a stage where I can use Linux for all of my regular
computing needs (web development, email, IM'ing, playing mp3, and browsing)

Anyway I just joined this list, so hopefully I can start figuring
everything out and make some meaningful contributions.

Thanks,
Tara