Ever since New World Macs came out, the Linux distros have been harder to install on Old World hardware. There is less attention paid to these Macs because they are less common and they are harder to work with at boot time.

I don't know about the 4400, but I could see the CHRP heritage being harder to get working than the average Old World Mac. On the other hand, an old Linux like YDL 2 or 3 might be ideal for a system that is as RAM limited as the 4400...

The installation of Linux on Old World systems is all pretty much the same: Partition the hard drive, install Mac OS on one partition, and use BootX to boot the Linux kernel. Once you are in Linux, the installers are different. YDL and Mandrake have graphical installers. I don't have any experience with Gentoo, Debian, or any of the other major distros nor of *BSD. Nevertheless, they should all be pretty much point-and-click installations even if the installer's interface isn't pretty.

Peace,
Drew
_________________
Power to the PowerPC!