[Wylug-help] Which distro?

[John Hodrien]

On Fri, 22 Jul 2011, Roger wrote:

> A friend is at last becoming disenchanted with 'Doze.
>
> The machine in question is only used for routine tasks: browsing the
> web; email; and 'office' work and he already uses Firefox and
> Thunderbird, while Open Office won't be a big step in the dark.  Thus
> applications are no barrier.
>
> The question is which distribution to go for.  The fact that he is still
> using XP suggests he has a conservative tendency; no wish to be at the
> bleeding cutting edge and to update his OS often.
>
> What would people here recommend as a good option for someone with
> modest requirements, but who wants their installation to be supported
> for as long as possible?

I'd say you've spotted the important bits, the long-term support.  That gives
you a choice of things like Ubuntu LTS / Scientific Linux / CentOS.  If it was
me, I'd be picking between SL and CentOS.  That keeps him good until his
machine goes pop.

jh