You may know that I use Kubuntu Linux on my computer for Newfangled. However, I have a personal laptop that I use that also runs Linux. The specific version of Linux it runs is called Puppy, and no matter what I do, I keep coming back to it.

Puppy Linux is designed to be an ultra-lightweight, but fully functional, Linux distro. The entire iso is under 90MB, so it's not bloated with lots of junk that you don't need. That doesn't mean you can't use it, though. It comes with things like a word processor, web browser, and instant messaging client.

One of the reasons that I like Puppy is that my laptop is very unfriendly towards Linux, but Puppy gets both my wireless and graphics right, straight out of the box. That's something no other Linux distro has done on that laptop.  

Another cool feature is the way you can run it from a live CD. You can either burn the iso to a multisession disk and save your data back to the disk as you go, or you can save it all to a single file in the root directory of your hard drive, which makes it very easy to back up and restore your data.

It is not without it's disadvantages, though. Since it's ultra-lightweight, it has a very small repository of applications. The Puppy community has made many of the applications that you're likely to use available, which can be a bit of a bother. But then, if you want to install lots of programs and libraries, why use a lightweight distro? 

I am very satisfied with Puppy Linux, and recommend that you give it a try. You may not like it as your main OS, but it's definitely handy to keep around as a salvage CD. Go get it: puppyos.net