Choice of distro for mom&pop old pc

[rast]

Hey guys,
I'm trying to decide what distro to install on my parents' pc. All they ever used is windows xp and learning that was quite a long painful period. They're pretty much trained to push sequences of buttons to achieve something. Anyway, they're frustrated with their pc (it's windows after all, and they're noobs :P ), so i wanna install some linux distro.
So, i'm looking for a distro that would run well with 512 mb ram and be super-user friendly and stable. So far i've considered xubuntu, mint fluxbox/lxde (how user friendly is that?) or maybe debian stable (is it possible to configure the system in a way that'd end up being idiot-proof?). The lighter the distro is the better, as they need to run OO and flash (which on linux is very resource hungry).
Thanks guys in advance.

[rokytnji]

Linux Mint XFCE should be pretty idiot proof.stab;e and run ok on 512 mb of ram.

[canineloop]

Using Eldy, a hugely simple interface would bring a lot less grief than the learning curve for Mint, or frankly any other OS/Distro.

Canineloop

[ved]

you can chose your distro from link i given
http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/new...e-posting.html

[jayd512]

I would have to agree with Roky.
Mint is stable and pretty much everything runs out of the box.
The interface for Xfce is clean and attractive, and shouldn't cause much confusion for your folks.
Software installation is pretty simple as well.

[nxn00b]

Linux mint is definitely the place to start.

[zenwalker]

Hey guys,
. . .
So, i'm looking for a distro that would run well with 512 mb ram and be super-user friendly and stable. . . they need to run OO and flash (which on linux is very resource hungry).
Thanks guys in advance.

The new zencafe 2.2 is very very impressive in its stability and ease of use; it comes with OO and the Netpkg updater/software manager couldn't be more straightforward. Might want to check it out!

[MASONTX]

Mint, yes, but I would suggest the LXDE version. Put the icons of their most used programs on the desktop, and they should hae no trouble.

[howardfci]

You don't say what your processor is, but I've run Ubuntu and Mint both on P-III @ 1 ghz with 512M with good results (including OO and Flash). In my experience you could go with a lighter system (eg lighter versions of Ubuntu or Mint, or many other lighter systems) but my experience on like machines is that they aren't necessary. Both Ubuntu and Mint meet your criteria for ease of use and good support. Good luck and have fun!

[canineloop]

You don't say what your processor is, but I've run Ubuntu and Mint both on P-III @ 1 ghz with 512M with good results (including OO and Flash). In my experience you could go with a lighter system (eg lighter versions of Ubuntu or Mint, or many other lighter systems) but my experience on like machines is that they aren't necessary. Both Ubuntu and Mint meet your criteria for ease of use and good support. Good luck and have fun!

My experience started with a Dell P1 laptop. With 144MB of RAM someone had wedged Windows XP onto it before donating it to our non-profit.

I placed Puppy Linux 2.x on it and it ran like lightning.

But, howardfci has a valid point. There are some more-fully featured Linuxes that easily support P3 computers with 933mhz. and 1ghz. processors.

As long as it has at LEAST 512MB of memory and a beefy enough video card these PCs are more than worthy for basic websurfing, even supporting audio and video streaming.

I choose hardware based on the minimal cost, because my target user is very underfunded. The P3's available easily meet that target in most cases.

canineloop