[wplug] Question on ISP rec's for Ligonier Area

[griffisb at bellsouth.net]

Hey all,

   I'm a member of Atlanta's Linux User's Group - Ale. Not a meeting-goer, but I do participate in the list. Anyway - my sister is up in Ligonier and I am putting together a laptop for her. I'm weighing the advantages/disadvantages of a few distributions and researching dial-up connectivity in Ligonier PA.

   My sister is a Windows person, but I was thinking of installing Linux on the laptop (I purchased a Dell laptop off Dell Financial Services on E-Bay. They come with no OS installed - plus I think Linux is a GOOD thing). I have experience in Mandrake and SuSE, and just a little bit of experience in Debian. 

   My questions are:
1. If you were to install a Linux OS for a remote newbie, what would you install? I'm leaning towards RH or SuSE as their manuals are very easy to follow. She would mainly be doing web surfing, e-mail, and writing documents (so Open Office would be installed).

2. If you were to pre-pay an ISP for 6 months or a year, what ISP would you pick? I have good experiences with AT&T and Earthlink, but have no experience with any local ISP's that might have better prices.

3. Would you find if I point my sis at your LUG? She would be completely new to Linux and I don't want her floundering. I'll work on answering questions for her, and pointing her to appropriate documentation sources and google - but local sources of information could probably help her out. I'd ask her to call/e-mail me with any tech support questions first, to cut down on overwhelming your group with newbie questions.

Bruce