Linux distro for newbie?

[luffy]

I already read New to Linux and Completely new to Linux threads but I can't decide.
1. Light on resources (P4, 1.3ghz, 512ram). No need pretty graphic. Just make it run fast.
2. Hardware compatibility (old hardware).
3. User friendly.
4. Easy to maintain (update, etc..).
1 is the most important. 4 is the least.
Computer will be used for surf web, chat, youtube, Skype. No game.

Thank you.

[hellnoire]

Puppy Linux or Lubuntu are my suggestions, though apparently Lubuntu can't run on a P3. So Puppy would be the next best thing.

[Alboguy]

I think Ubuntu has the more intuitive interface so I recommend you start with it.

[LizardMan]

What about Linux Mint?

[boyzee]

I would recommend Linux Mint 8 Xfce CE which is based on Xubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala.

http://www.linuxmint.com/rel_helena_xfce.php

[kv777]

You Should go by Hellnoire's suggestion and use puppy as it requires less system resources.If you want a very easy distribution you could go for Mint and try to install LXde desktop manager.

[hellnoire]

If you need something as easy as Mint and supports more, then use Peppermint, but I can't assure you that it's light enough to run on a P3... but otherwise, use Puppy.

Mint, in all it's incarnations, are too heavy to run on a P4 at a really decent speed, including the XFCE based variant.

[luffy]

Between Opensuse and Puppy Linux which one is better for:
1. Old hardware
2. Light on resources

[hellnoire]

Puppy.... that's like asking which is faster, a horse or a Lamborghini.

[johnshaw1917]

You could take a look at Slax. It is lightweight and designed to run on older systems.