I'm using Xandros OC3 for the "iPac" (patron library catalog access, basically just Firefox) computers in my library system because Xandros is easy to install and use, runs quickly on old hardware, and uses KDE so I can use KDE Kiosk Tool for lockdown.

I'd also like to use Linux for PACs (general patron use, including Firefox, OpenOffice, Scribus, web content filtering, music and video players, KDEedu) in my library system. However, the non-standard pieces of Xandros are making it very difficult to set up all this software. For example, OpenOffice 2.0 is only available free through RPMs (can't find the debs anywhere since packages.debian.org is down), which take about 3 hours to install. Much of the other software is also tricky to install and configure on Xandros.

So I tried other one-CD KDE distributions. Kubuntu runs like molasses even on a Pentium 4. SLICK (one-CD SUSE) is too weird for Windows-zombie patrons. Debian Sarge 1-CD "net install" takes ages to download all the packagese from slow mirrors. Others won't install quickly; you have to first boot into a full OS-environment live CD and then "install to hard disk" or something. Mandriva One is even slower than Kubuntu.

Perhaps I'll just have to work on getting SLICK to work, or work around Xandros' weirdities, but I just thought I'd ask if anyone can recommend an easy-to-use, quick-to-install, fast-running, minimal KDE distro. Any ideas?

Thanks!

For speed and a trim profile, nothing beats slackware IMHO. But ease of use and good package management are certainly not slack's strong suit. There's a nice livecd based on slackware called slax:

http://slax.linux-live.org/

Slax is a slimmed down version of slackware(180MB download) that you may want to look at.

Another heavier livecd that is much more windows like is PCLinuxOS(pclos):

http://www.pclinuxos.com/

This is a very user friendly distro and uses a synaptic front end for package management. The pclos repos have all the current software that you are looking for. It's heavier but should run fine on a P4 with adequate ram. There is also an easy install wizard that can be executed from the livecd.

Both of the above are kde based. I've found nothing that runs faster than slackware but it's definitely not for newbs IMHO. Coming from Xandros, pclos is a much easier transition and probably more of what you are looking for.

Debian netinst is the most flexible in choosing only packages you want. Despite the name, you do not have to install everything from the network when using the netinst CD. Just get the first 3 or 4 debian sarge CD's and configure apt to use the CD's to install packages. Your basic installation will be a lot quicker using packages from the CD's. After installation, you can edit /etc/apt/sources.list to do updates from the network.

I've tried all those before. I may go with PCLinuxOS, though I wish it could be installed without booting into the OS environment. Thanks!

Thank you man!

Vector linux is nice and light and the soho version comes with KDE...

Vecotr Linux Soho

If you're managing a large number of computers, it's about time you learned some more sophisticated installation techniques. For instance, if the hardware is similar, you can simply copy the OS hard drive over after installing/configuring just once. This will work with any distribution.

A better solution may be to use net-booting techniques. Potentially, this can radically reduce your maintenance requirements. LTSP with something like K12LTSP may be just what you're looking for. Unfortunately, this method puts a heavy burden on the server(s). An alternative approach is "thick client" net-booting, where programs actually run on the clients and the server is essentially a file server.

I use "thick client" diskless workstations at home, and it's great. Besides saving money and power from removing all those hard drives, it centralizes all of the maintenance effort. Depending on exactly how you decide to configure things, you can install and maintain just one installation, and adding new diskless workstations is as trivial as adding its MAC address to one configuration file!

Depending on what sort of hardware you're using, K12LTSP may be the best solution. It's the closest thing to a "turnkey" solution for what you're asking for. If I were in your position, I'd be using Debian with thick client diskless workstations--this requires more effort/research/experimenting in the initial setup, but it balances the CPU load better and has easier ongoing maintenance.

Moved: This thread is more suitable in Linux Distributions and has been moved accordingly to help your thread/question get the exposure it deserves.

Nimble X:

100 mb live CD. I think that's the smallest space used for a KDE distribution ever. Has quite a few softwares installed by default too.