Hey guys. I was just wondering what you might consider to be the best Free OS thats not a Linux Distribution. The reason(s) I say this is because I find that Windows is just too bulky, with various recurring issues, and Linux I just found confusing at times, even though it ran lightning fast without any faults.

So, I would like something that is lightweight and secure, like Linux, but which has the simplicity of Windows. One thing I couldn't get to grips with in Linux was executing various programs I had downloaded, as you had to type in and remember lines of commands and whatnot to access things and find your way around. Where as in Windows, it's a simple case of clicking the mouse. Even after going through hours of reading documentation, I still couldn't get to grips with things.

Bear in mind that I only have 256mb of RAM, so this is part of the reason why XP is slightly 'bogged down' at times. Are there any Linux distros that have the simplistic and user friendly features of Windows? I'm pretty sure that they all require you to learn commands. But, anyhow, what OS would you recommend outside of the main two?

My Requirements:

Lightweight
Fast
Secure
User Friendly (in other words, 'Noob' Friendly)
One that I can install without the need of burning to CD (don't know if this possible, and it's not essential anyway. But since I don't have a blank disc, I'd rather just install it straight after I download)

I only need it for the essentials such as Internet and Multimedia. Hope someone can help, it would be appreciated.

Well...aside from Linux - I'm not aware of any OS that's free...

There was an OS called Lindows...which was a cross between Windows and Linux...not sure the status of that anymore - i know Microsoft had them in courts for the better part of their developement...

They renamed themself Linspire which is not free. Although they did give it away for a short period of time last year.

There is a free alternative to Linspire called Freespire which does not have all the bells and whistles though.

Ram is cheap as anything, get yourself another stick of 256 mb and you will notice the difference...

Linspire is around 50$ i think, and is sposed to be alot like windows. It also has a program in it called Wine that allows you to run some windows programs in the Linux environment. This program can also be added to some other Linux distributions. Freespire is the free limited version of of Linspire, and additional programs and applications can be added, but they aint free, you pay as you play. Free BSD is another open source os based on Unix , but if you find Linux confusing, it would be too. They are improving alot of the Linux distributions and making them more user friendly and easier to use, but this is the only one that i know of that claims to be point and click, giddy up and go like windows, but i havent tried linspire yet.

Ok thanks guys. I was fed up with Windows, and too lazy to learn Linux (I'll be honest)

XP is a good OS, it's just makes me feel slightly anxious at times with it's security issues and demand of a higher-spec computer. On the positives, It's user-friendly, and is compatible with the large majority of things I'll need. It's issues have always been problematic for me (probably because I'm not much of an expert). I've had to clean install countless times, just last night infact. I was installing SP2, when it stopped on 'Performing Clean Up' and wouldn't progress any further. It's happened before too. After I ended the task, I went to reboot, and that buggered the PC up. It kept on restarting the boot process over and over again. I couldn't even access safe mode or anything. So now I'll be scared to install SP2.

Now I'm using a 'stripped down' version of XP temporarily, however I won't be using it for long, as I don't really trust these things, and don't like using 'someone elses' copy of Windows. It could also be missing various files that I may need for something later on. I'm pretty sure that it violates parts of Microsofts license thingy too...What I'll do is keep a back up OS on either a floppy or USB stick or whatever (such as 'Puppy Linux') incase any problems should arise. Thanks for all you guys help.

Puppy Linux is my favorite of the live cd versions. It actually loads into ram, so once it loads you can take the cd out to free up your drive for rescuing files ...ect. You can also burn it to cd or dvd as a multisession disk, and save sessions back to the boot media, something Knoppix was supposed to be able to do , but i havent found anyone that knows how yet. You can also load knoppix into ram with a boot option, but it takes almost a gig of ram. I saw another Linux distro that claims to be as easy as windows called "Xandros". It also has wine tools in it to run windows apps, but it aint free either. Linux is a great OS, but it aint for the faint hearted, or as you put it, "lazy" . LOL As much as i dislike Microsofts business methods and tactics in trying to monopolize everything, you hafta admit, windows is pretty easy to use.