Ok, I am brand new to Linux (only ran a Live CD a couple times to recover files and partition a hard drive) so please bear with me. I just snagged a new laptop on black friday and want to do something fun with my old one. I am basically looking to throw Linux on it and keep it in my kitchen/living room as a lightweight internet/streaming media/light app work (will probably use it to travel as well since it's small and I'm not too worried about keeping it overly safe).

I took a couple of those "Linux Distro Surveys" and they point me to Ubuntu and OpenSuSE. Now I really don't know much about either (especially the difference between the million Ubuntu flavors) so I need a little guidance.

System Specs:

Dell 600m
Intel Centrino 1.2 Ghz
512 RAM
250 Gig HDD

Need something that has a solid graphical interface and doesn't require TOO much work since the rest of my technically uninclined family will use it occasionally. Also if it supports apps that mimic desktop widgets (for news/weather feeds) that is a huge plus.

Thanks in advance!

Mint, PCLinuxOS or Mepis.

Hi stevo11x. I see that you found yourself a really crappy system. Congratulations! I would suggest that you try xubuntu(just make sure that you add xchat, amarok and Konsole). I suspect that you won't be able to run all the special effects but Mandriva and Ubuntu regular are great beginner choices.

haha yes, it's almost 6 years old though, so it had its run. I've been looking at Ubuntu a lot... would mint be a good variant (comes preloaded with a lot of what I would need)?