From the standpoint of usability what should I go with? I am running Ubuntu 12.04 with Unity right now on my Acer Aspire One D255 and it works quite well. It came with Windows and was so slow it was literally unusable (possibly due to adware loaded by Acer). It runs fast with Ubuntu but not real happy with Unity. Would Kubuntu be easier with an easier interface? I know how to use a command line but to be honest I prefer the GUI.

Also, if Ubuntu 12.04 runs nice on my Acer Aspire One D255, would Kubuntu run on it to?

I had the same laptop (passed it on to my son) and ran Kubuntu on it without issue. I did find though that Lubuntu (LXDE desktop) ran even faster as did Xubunut. As for the LTS or the newer 12.10, it depends on what you'd like to do. With the 12.04LTS you would be set a while longer without a change every 6-7 months. For the stability the 12.04 LTS makes sense.

As for the version, that is a matter of taste regarding the desktop environments you like using. If you prefer a KDE style, you could use Kubuntu or for that matter Lubuntu as I mentioned before. The Lubuntu really worked well on my Acer.

Very good info. Thanks mucho. I never was able to access my Windows shares from 12.04 LTS. I want to do this as part of my migration away from Windows. I wonder if Kunbuntu's samba components/config would work better. I guess they would be the same. No?