I tried several different versions of Linux this past week off of my USB card and I have to say that Ubuntu is still the best. I tried Linux Mint 16, Puppy, Simplicity Linux (Pupplet that didn’t even bother to remove the barking when loaded), Linux Console 2.0, and more. I also looked at a bunch of websites about others during this time.
None of the ones I tried were anywhere near as smoothly operating, nicely designed and works as well as Ubuntu 12.04 LTS
Linux Console 2.0 did nothing when I tapped the touchpad, I had to use the actual buttons to get anything done. It also looked a bit like Windows 3.1, lol
The old IBM T42 that I’m typing on now is Ubuntu. I only use it for browsing and email but it has served me well for a few years now.
I just installed Fedora after Linux Mint failed to work good enough for me as a supplementary OS (installed progs did not even show up, and failed to boot, etc.), but among other things that would make things easier as in Windows, neither enables you to right click on icons in the Star menu and find actual program locations. And the Dolphin file browser has a poor interface.