I wrote the original entry to this thread on November 17, 2008 with the title:
"Fast system to use: antiX".

This not only remains true today, but it's more important than ever.
Back in 2008 there were at least a few CD-based distributions, some of which were primarily live distributions.

antiX has always been able to run live, and several persistent state capabilities, in particular, "Frugal persist" have become favorites, and antiX also allows the ability to run on permanent physical media - I'm running on a solid state drive, NVME SSD technology; I also have multiple images saved on USB Flash Drives.

Back in 2008 antiX ran on the default init system of the era, sysVinit; this is still available; antiX 23 also has runit available as an alternative; that is what I am currently using.

At the end of 2016, I still have the Gateway 17" PA6A laptop (really a "large portable"), the Lenovo 3000 Y410, but these systems were acquired around 2008 and are really aging, so I use them only occasionally in testing. The Chromebook CR-48 is gone, but I've added a Lenovo Chromebook N22.

My every day home system is now the Dell Inspiron 5558, which I purchased about a year ago.

My current environment continues to include two of the previously mentioned laptops, Gateway 17" PA6A laptop and the Lenovo 3000 Y410. I got rid of the desktop systems. I do have a prototype Chromebook CR-48 but I have not recently used it. What's been added are phones and tablets. I currently own a MOTO X phone and a Nexus 7 tablet and I have access to a few other types used by family members too.

I have added a Gateway 17" PA6A laptop to my collection of home systems, so I now have THREE laptops: the Gateway, the Dell Latitude D600, and the Lenovo 3000 Y410. My two desktop systems continue to be the aging but solid Dell Dimension 4100 and the good Compaq/HP D530 desktop test system.