knoppix IS THE REAL & ORIGINAL ( wikipedia ) & BEST live 'distro'. Many common users ( most of them used to windows ) afraid to switch to linux are USING linux because of Knoppix. And the new 5.1.1 eye candy with beryl n emerald is really cool man !

knoppix is the ORIGINAL & BEST live distro. Its the best choice for common peole n newbiews to start with / swith to linux. And the new 5.1.1 eye-candy with beryl n emerald is just cool man

Surely Knoppix LiveDVD is the best you can get?

DamnVulnerableLinux as it contains a lot of security apps using DamnSmall as a base, so not listed makes DamnSmall my choice.

The same as my favorite installed distro, Puppy.

PCLinuxOS is my favorite Live Distribution and my favorite installed distribution as well. I have used Knoppix, Kanotix, Mepis, Vector, Gentoo, Ubuntu, DyneBolic, DreamLinux, and other live distributions, but PCLinuxOs has worked the best for me. It recognizes all my hardware and internet service; has a great Repository of easy to install programs with full dependencies added as well; a constant update of programs; and easy hard disk installation.

Puppy of course, because it's small and powerful. Plus the people on the forums rock!

(W/ apologies to Jack Webb).

Now there is no way I have tried all the candidates; but of the ones that I have, SimplyMEPIS is the only that is equally a live CD & the install media.

I am especially disappointed in the current Ubuntu DVD's in my possession (from review books) because they could have incredibly multi-purpose: Live, Install, & Repair spanning all 4(?) Canonical flavors: Ubuntu itself, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, & Edubuntu. Surely there is enough overlap in the base software required that few packages would have had to be sacrificed to include the stuff that is unique to each flavor or purpose -- sheesh! a DVD holds almost 7 CD's worth of data.

I deal a lot w/ potential converts & SimplyMEPIS is ideal for me to hand out: easy to run live & easy to install when the time comes. It also has distro specific (to itself) repair tools unlike any I have seen elsewhere.

DSL for live distro, always carry a disc in case I need to connect.

I went with BeafantIX being that the group made great strides in producing a final LiveCD that blazes even on older hardware. Most LCDs stutter and groan when you try to make use of them. BFX runs almost as smooth as installing it.

if knoppix can't detect it what's the chance of the others? hmm

I couldn't even count how many times Knoppix has saved my job.

Knoppix, Ubuntu (christmas or Ultimate edition), Mandriva One are real good live distros
DSL, puppy are the best on small or aged hardware
Sabayon linux is the real *best* live distro I've seen last year, and I'm using its 32 as well as 64-bit releases for the fun, the amazing graphics as well as for the enormous amount of +++various software it gives to the user in a couple of minutes (GUI as well as console apps like mdadm, etc, etc.)

I seldom use live distros and therefore have only tried six (two are not listed as choices in the poll): SimplyMEPIS, PCLinuxOS, Puppy, Mandriva One, Mandriva Move, and Linspire Live. All of them except Puppy are comparatively large and slow. That is why Puppy gets my vote. It gets the job done and doesn't kill off your laptop battery by constantly accessing the CD. I also understand that when booting from USB (something I have not yet tried), Puppy minimizes writes, enhancing USB key life.

I kinda like SLAX to be honest. I have the Kill Bill version and it's fun to use.