Which version is best?

Grettings All,
I'm new to this forum, so please bear with me in my ignorance.

This is what I want to accomplish:
A.)I would like to set up a small 8 user network.
B.)Have a separate machine allocated to be a fileserver and a web server. (The company I am affiliated with already hosts a web page using the Microcheese products.)
C.) Have some sort of graphical user interface.
D.) Have some sort of Business Software for spreadsheets,databases, wordprocessing etc.

A very long time ago, I used to be a Unix guru circa (1980 - 1994) and I had some exposure to linux back circa 1993 or so.
A lot has changed. linux used to be a text only (similar to the old system V or old BSD flavors) I have forgotten much, but not all.

I'm curious as to which version of linux (if one exists) is the best (if there is even such a distinction) to fit our needs. (extreeme budget) Maybe best is not the correct word, but possibly an illustrative lists of pros and cons, or input about likes and dislikes.

The company does not have a lot of money to buy a lot of professional server stuff. Can an affordable linux solution be found that meets our needs?
I welcome any and all responses

Well first I'd like to establish that, there really isn't a best Linux flavor or Disribution. That is all opinion based in probably 95% of the time.

A. Any current distro could easily work with a 8 user network.
B. No problem there, just about every distro comes with Apache and the tools needed to share files, setup a fileserver, etc.
C. All of them come with these, the most popular are KDE and Gnome. There are dozens out there though, lighter window managers, desktops, and so on. You'd really have to try out some to know which one you prefer, but all are customizable as well.
D. OpenOffice.org, M$ equivalent and its free as well...

I'd say this though, if you want a popular and well supported distro, the commercial favorite is Redhat, easy to setup, easy for most to use and so on.
If you want a lighter install base and your not scared of the command line to configure, I'd vote to go with Slackware or the like, maybe even Debian.

We have tons of threads covering this type of questions and such, maybe a search will give you some ideas as well.

Hope this helps you out in your decision. And of course, if you ever need help, www.linuxquestions.org is the best forum out there, always here to help with your questions..

The thing to keep in mind is that each distro tries to find it's own niche. I'd recommend trying to one's that look interesting to you and then decide which one you like the best. They all certainly have their own quirks. You can also visit the LQ distro reviews section:
http://www.linuxquestions.org/reviews/index.php

--jeremy

Luckily it should be easy to satisfy your needs: business-type desktop and a small server - these are bread and butter of most flavours out there. Also you're in lucky position of being familiar with Unix and command line. These would be my recommendations, in the decreasing order of desirability:

First choice - Slackware: it's current version (9.1) is still very fresh and up to date, with your skills you should find it easy to install and configure, has all the tools users will expect on their desktops but can be easily configured into an excellent server as well. Good performance, clean system, and last but not least, cheap. You can download it for free, or better yet do the right thing and order at least one or two boxed sets at what - 40 bucks or so?

All of the above goes for Arch Linux as well, except it is cheaper still. One possible downside: it will run on i686 only.

Debian, while otherwise appealing and solid, is very out of date in its stable form. This is especially noticeable in the desktop environment. Yes you can get all the latest stuff from the testing/unstable branches, but by then you'll be putting a bit of work into it and negating some of the reasons for getting it in a first place.

Another possibility would to mix and match: something solid like Slackware or Debian for the server, and one of the one-disk, "beginners" distros for the desktops: JAMD, for example. Advantage: hopefully very easy set up for the desktops, user-friendly out of the box. Disadvantage: two different environments to maintain.

Esoteric option: SoL Linux. This is a small distro that comes in two flavours: Server (their name stands for Server Oriented Linux) and just-released Office. I haven't used it, it just seems interesting. You could test it and let me know how it worked

Distrowatch (http://www.distrowatch.com) is an excellent resource for learning about the hundred-plus flavours of Linux available!

Grettings,
I am pleased and grateful for the responses that I have gotten so far. Yes, I am in the process of searching out what would suit my needs.
I sincerely hope I don’t alienate anyone, but I am also considering Free BSD (something that I fould out about a couple of hours ago)

I'm still researching, nothing cast in stone as of yet.


trickykid:
I’d be more than happy to :
(Click that Affero button if you think any of my posts were helpful.)
But I confess, that I’m not up to speed on Affero buttons and I didn’t see one.
(I notice you are from Austin, I have an old friend from many years ago J.P. Young that lives and works there.

Oh, that mentioning of Affero is part of my signature. Basically Affero is a non-profit organisation that specializes in helping raise funds to Open Source projects.

Its also designed and setup to rate people like me that visit forums or use forums on my helpfulness. No one is under any obligation to press the button, but only if you feel that someone helped you answer a question and so on.

If you ever decide to push someones Affero button, you have the option to either rate them for their good deeds or even donate. Each person in their profile can choose if someone donates on their behalf to different organisations.

Mine currently if someone donates, 80% goes to this site, 10% goes to FSF and the last 10% goes to the Apache group.

You can find out more at www.affero.net and the Affero button is under each members post where you see the profile, www, email and so on type links..

Hope this clears the Affero thingy for you.. Glad to be of help with my first response in helping you decide what to go with....

Cheers