So let me see if I get this Linux thing right...

Linux is a stripped down, open source OS.

A Linux distro is simply linux packaged with different ehm... 'parts'. Such as desktop environment (KDE, GNOME or XFCE), etc...

So in the end, the main difference between each distro is which packages it comes bundled with, i.e. it's possible to turn one distro into another, theoretically (of course there'd be no point, I'm just trying to see if I got this right...)?

I'm still a bit patchy on some of this stuff. From what I gather the A1 distro comes with XFCE because it's less demanding on the CPU, and the other softwares (open office, acer messenger etc...) are all part of the distro that's specially made for the A1.

So by getting UNR or Ubuntu you'd get however a Linux distro that's not meant for for the A1 specifically (hence the small issues with some hardware) but since it's still Linux, the same commands in the terminal work just the same etc... Though it comes with GNOME right and therefore windows will have different options and look different?

 

Yes but there is more to it. (disclaimer, I am not a Linux guru but have been using it in many versions for a couple years.) I do know many different distros have different kernels which is more than packaging also some distros come with specially designed wizards and tools designed just for that distro and sometimes just for a particular version.

I don't think it would be possible to turn one distro into another without making some very fundamental changes not just package changes.

I would have to say that is just too simplistic even though some of what you say is mostly true like the terminal being similar (as far as I know) they are not always the exactly the same.

 

Linux distros vary widely, while some share the same philosophy every one implements it differently. A good example is the difference in startup, some prefer the BSD-style(Slackware) while other use Sysv-style(Debian). They both get the job done. Some developers prefer 'keep it simple stupid' while other add flash and pizzazz to there's. You can have two or three distros that have the exact same packages but are completely different due to all the underlying things that the developers do to create they own work of art. While they look alike they are far from it.


Also
A good movie to watch and learn about Linux and GNU is called Revolution OS. It explains quite a bit.