Virtual Machine - best distro as host
 

I want to install a single-boot, lightweight, non-full-featured distro with a lightweight gui - fast load, very easy on resources.

Once loaded, that distro will serve to run only

1. internet: lightweight browser & e-mail
2. lightweight utils: terminal, gui notepad, calculator, network admin, and maybe some other quick-n-dirty tasks
3. vmplayer: (brand-name or generic) to run virtual machines for
   • xp and ubuntu (or other high-power distro) - simultaneously
   • perhaps vm appliances, other distros, other O/S

The hardware:

• HP notebook
• duo-core
• 2GB RAM
• Intel wireless
• Nvidia geoforce g 7600

All of my experience is with UNIX and full-featured distros like R/H, Debian, Ubuntu. What are some good skinny distros for the vm host & for those quick in-and-out tasks?

TIA

Beyond Linux From Scratch (BLFS) and Slackware :)

Or just install Ubuntu and strip off some packages.

Debian with base install(no GUI) and adding the packages you need, vmware server for virtualization.