Knoppix for office type tasks?

[stef25]

i completely formatted my pc's and then installed a clean xp pro SP2

like this i have a clean computer with the latest windows running on it

but im very intrested in using a linux desktop environment for simple things like email and word processing ... ms office type stuff

can anyone recommend something like knoppix? useful for this?

[vkaryl]

stef25:

I liked knoppix well enough that I'm going to install a "real" distro this winter (which is when I have time to do stuff like this....)

[stef25]

if this is offtopic pls let me know, what's a "real" distribution?

[vkaryl]

A "real" distro is one that needs its own partition etc. on a hard drive, as opposed to the knoppix "try it out" version which runs in its entirety from the cd.

You can run linux AND windows of various flavors on one machine, just have to separately partition your drive (or, as I'm going to do, install a second hard drive just for linux).

[Chndru]

Knoppix is smooth. It even works on my old old machine well.

[eaden]

knoppix can be installed, just like any distribution.

You end up with a debian based pre-configured, software pre-installed distro. There are many ways to install it. You could also think of it as a portable OS. (Knoppix + USB Disk)

[kdehead]

Mepis is worth checking out - Debian based, like Knoppix
[mepis.org...]

indepth review here:
[desktoplinux.com...]

"SimplyMEPIS is a live CD. This means that a user can boot and run off the CD without installing the OS on their hard disk. This invites comparison with the highly regarded Knoppix.

Knoppix is an excellent distribution, but Knoppix is not designed to be installed on a hard disk. Knoppix is designed as a standalone system that fits on a single CD and will boot into a complete system. Knoppix raised the bar for Linux systems for hardware plug and play. While SimplyMEPIS can operate as a standalone CD, SimplyMEPIS provides the option to quickly install Linux onto your hard disk. SimplyMEPIS includes a utility called QTparted that provides the same functionality as a commercial disk partitioning program like Partition Magic."