XBMCBuntu Vs Openelec

I prefer OpenElec because my HTPC is just a HTPC. I don't need to do any browsing, emulation, downloading, anything.. So the simpler the better.

And because it is just a stripped-down OS in the background, OpenElec is wicked fast to boot up and has very low ram useage.

Hey I am building an htpc and was planning to use xbmc until I saw this thread.

3 Qs

how much difference is there is in boot time? I'm going to use a new 250Mb/s SSD so im hoping that makes the difference negligible since I would prefer to use Xbmc live so I have more flexibility with plugins, the OS, and such.

Can I register repos and download plugins on openelec the same as the live version?

Is one easier than the other to configure with my Harmony 900 remote?

As far as XBMC Addons they pretty much all work on openelec. The difference is if they need require you to install additional software then it can be rough with openelec. I can't think of any off the bat though to be honest.

Openelec is really fast and super easy, but it locks everything down. So if you want to tinker or install other things outside XBMC it probably is not for you.

I have no evidence, but I would think if you are running a ssd then the difference in speed would be negligible and if noticeable would just be on boot.

So my question is are you planning actually turning your system off. I usually leave my running.

I'm a newbie - started by using XBMC on Windows - changed to XBMCbuntu for performance reasons.

I have seen comments about performing updates from the XBMCbuntu: Eden Beta by performing an "apt-get upgrade" but how do you get to a command line to perform such commands.

I also cannot get my MCE Remote to work- I have turned on the remote send keyboard commands option with no luck i was hoping that maybe the updated Eden might help since there is supposedly a Linc fix included?

Any help for a newbie would be appreciated.
Thanks