im looking for a really simple distro or desktop environment that is based with simple menus you can scroll through and select with a device that contains only a few buttons for navigating menus, no keyboard.. the purpose for this would be is an ultra-durable raspberry pi based mobile device that will be used primarily as a database for information and text

something far simpler, cheaper, and durable than a smart phone

any ideas?

You can use most distro that runs on RPi with a simple mouse/touchpad device.

I think Debian has a distro for the Pi, you could use a Window Manager rather than a Desktop Environment, such as Fluxbox or IceWM.

Edit: You could use a tiling Window Manager.
Edit: If you don't need Xorg, just script a menu as a reminder of the programs available. If you are only interested in a database with access from a virtual terminal, take a look at sqlite3, quite easy to use compared to a full blown relational database.

is it possible to view images without xorg?

I haven't tried it, but look for an app in your distro called "fbi". I believe it uses the frame buffer to display images.

Here's an article about fbi: http://linuxers.org/howto/howto-open...d-image-viewer

I've never used it, but dolphin_oracle piqued my curiosity. Since you can play videos without X, you should be able to view images without X.

Update: Correction in bold above.

well, i looked at FBI, and it looks like this one program does actually read and display all the file types i could possibly need it to.. images, PDF files, and videos all from CLI without X

i think if i created a DSL distro that used a startup script to boot directly into a cli based file manager/browser and could load those three filetypes automatically in FBI, i think we could have a functioning system for the device.. bottom line is we need something that can be fully navigated with little more than the arrow keys, enter key, escape, and maybe one or two other buttons.. think this will be mounted into a device that would look like the half of a nintendo DS that has the buttons on it

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more information about this device, i think it will end up looking something like a playstation vita, lower half of a nintendo DS.. you know, a scree, d-pad, and a few buttons, but my device has to be borderline indestructable, protected from EMP, waterproof, heat resistant, shock proof, and can take a beating.. the operating system has to be just as rugged and reliable.. unlikely to succumb to major glitches, crashed, or other software errors, not using xorg or a desktop environment removes the most complex components of the linux system, in fact most errors with linux tend to be xorg or desktop environment related.. plus the dependancy on a mouse i will not be using as well as higher levels of CPU and GPU usage and RAM.. if there was some kind of a simplified GUI that could easily be navigated with a d-pad and a couple buttons, i may consider it but i honestly cant think of any and have found any

Take a look at TinyCore, a modern version of DSL.

If you booted into mc (midnight commander), you could associate file types to programs, so maybe just need FBI & mc on top of busybox(?).

mc : http://www.tldp.org/LDP/LG/issue23/w...c_article.html

busybox : http://www.busybox.net/about.html

TinyCore : http://www.tinycorelinux.net/welcome.html

yeah fatmac.. thats pretty much what i was thinking