Hi! I'd like to find a bare-minimum linux system, but has good support for hardware devices, etc.

this is what I want to be able to do:

write c++ programs (I'm learning) - just need basic c++ compiler (gcc)

compose basic rtf/txt documents

web/email/im/music (mozilla/evolution/gaim/xmms)

strong firewall

that's it. for other stuff I'll use my windows partition (that's a bit of a let down, but, hey, I gotta do work in a MS-centric world)

I want it do boot QUICKY (not like redhat 9.. geez)


could someone lead me to a good distribution?

also, I don't want to download huge files (again)... just something small and functional - not a zillion rpm packages I'll never use - why download them?

thanks a bunch

well, as far as i know, you can write programs in windows too...
if u only want to use linux to write programs but are going to use windows all the time, stay with windows because what will end up happening is that if u are unable to get linux running, you may draw some bad conclusions about linux

back to the subject, if u really want a bare minimum with only what you want, go for LFS (linux from scratch) or slackware 9.1, but stay at your computer and choose exactly what packages you want/need.

Gentoo is supposed to be good as well, but i have no experience with it and have not read much about it

Read something about LFS. This is a "handy crafted" linux which contains a base system without any extras usually set in typical distros. The advantages are:
- you will learn more about all basic program dependencies
- you will see how the scripts can be small, readable and fast
- all the programs canl be built up for your CPU for best performance
The disadvantage is that you need to spend some hours to build it. But it is really worth the time you invest. On my Athlon2000 the KDE starts within 11 secs

I don't like windows - the only reason I use it is for gaming, adobe photoshop (gimp just isn't as good in my opinion), windows-only compatible thingies, and MS office (which I think I can emulate with WINE anyway) - MS just has such a big monopoly on that stuff - ppt, excel, doc, etc

I've already installed Red Hat 9, but dislike it because of the boot load time (it's just so damn slow)

I'm off to check LFS, thx

oh, btw, the problem is downloading massive 700mb files when I don't actually use the rpms. (not the matter of choosing to install them) - my ISP caps me, and I've used 97% of my 3gb/month (3000 MB - bastards) already

I would buy the distributions, but 1) I need to find a good one, 2)none of my local retailers offer (new) linux distr. - I'm in Australia - I don't like forking out bucks for shipping - plus CC security concerns

ok, well, most distros are going to be 600 megs +
slackware is small, the newest is only 2 discs and lots of people can help u with it

lfs is very fast, but i don't quite know how it is installed

I hear about something called vector linux, supposedly small but meant for really old computers

checkout distrowatch.com, it has all info u need about distros

well u can indeed use any distro , just install the things u need (gcc/mozilla/gaim etc.) ....