Try Debian stable for easy setup and solid server performance. Stable, secure, and easy to install and setup with apt-get.

My $0.02

gone

????

it was just something really cool and free, but then he told me, that was only offered to me and some others, but if you got the link then =) because it's super leet free stuff

I'm not sure I'm following you but if you're talking about Debian it's free to anyone at http://www.debian.org/ Goto this page http://www.debian.org/CD/jigdo-cd/ and get jigdo to download it. A very easy to use program and you only need to get the 1st install CD, not all of them that are available. Use that 1st cd to install it and then it will download the rest from the internet itself. If you just want a server to run webpage hosting you can have that installed and running with less then 150MB. The base install of the Debian linux system and the apache web server is all you would need for webhosting. I think just that would actually come up with under 100MB for the entire OS and webserver leaving all the rest of the drive space for your websites.

that is w/out a GUI factored in though.

Absolutely. If you want a server running and efficient with its resources dedicated to its mission then a GUI is not needed. It's a waste of space and resources that are better used somewhere else.

Before this post was edited he had expressed linux was too hard and he was going to use win2000 So I am assuming he wants a gui, the GUI would only need to be running when he is working on it and it would only take about another 150 Megs of space.

True, but with a little info and coaxing he may want to forget about the gui. With running a dedicated server like that there is so little that really needs setup and managed, just a couple text files mainly, which I think would make the gui a big waste, even if it doesn't take up much. Edit a couple configs is most of what would need done.

The directories and file could be easily managed with ftp or through samba both by the end user who owns the site on that machine, just leaving him with the operation of the computer and the web daemon, the user can take care of almost everything else themselves.

What can I say, I'm a fan of the commandline. I think it's easier and faster myself and prefer to use it rather than a gui. I use the gui for surfing the web and email, and other things that need a gui to really be useful. Surfing the web with lynx just stinks. It can be useful, but not fun. I can't think of anything on my computer that I setup with a gui other than gui-only software like mozilla or something like that. I think commandline is the best way to learn your computer also. You get a more hands on feel and know a little more about how things work. If you're going to run a server for someone I think it would be better if you knew more about it and what you were doing, gui takes away some of that learning and knowledge. Besides, remote administration which can be a great time saver just isn't as easy with a gui.

Just a few thoughts about that. Any other ideas or suggestions I'd like to hear. I may run into something that may be helpful to me as well.

Thanks