Old Machine? AntiX is a fast, lightweight and easy to install linux live CD distribution based on MEPIS and Debian Testing.

antiX is a fast, lightweight and easy-to-install linux live CD distribution based on MEPIS and Debian's testing branch for Intel/AMD x86-compatible systems. antiX offers users the "Magic of MEPIS" in an environment suitable for old computers.

The goal of antiX is to provide a light, but fully functional and flexible free operating system for both newcomers and experienced users of Linux.

It should run on most computers, ranging from 64 MB PII systems with a pre-configured 128 MB swap partition to the latest powerful boxes. 128 MB RAM is the recommended minimum for antiX while the installer needs a minimum of 1.2 GB hard disk space.

antiX can also be used as a fast-booting rescue CD.

Updates (via Distrowatch):

The first public test release of antiX M11, a lightweight Debian/MEPIS-based distribution designed for older computers, is ready for download: "First public test release of antiX M11 series. It comes in three flavours; antiX 'full', antiX 'base' and antiX 'core' for i686 and i486 (PI and K5/6) computers. It is an upgraded release of antiX M8.5 as well as incorporating several changes since the release of antiX M8.5. We are still keeping with GRUB legacy and the 2.6.32 MEPIS kernel at the moment. Features: all applications upgraded via Debian 'Testing' repositories up to 27 December 2010; bugs from antiX M8.5 fixed; antiX 'full' now defaults to an IceWM ROX desktop though other options are available in the boot menu; Chinese, Japanese and Korean fonts included in antiX 'full', as well as ibus...."

Read the rest of the release announcement for further details.

Download: antiX-M11-pt1-686.iso (617MB, MD5), antiX-M11-base-pt1-686.iso (312MB, MD5), antiX-M11-core-pt1-686.iso (110MB, MD5).

Recent releases:

• 2010-12-28: Development Release: antiX M11 Test 1
• 2010-04-13: Distribution Release: antiX 8.5
• 2009-07-24: Distribution Release: antiX 8.2
• 2009-02-14: Distribution Release: antiX 8
• 2008-08-24: Distribution Release: antiX 7.5
• 2008-05-16: Distribution Release: antiX 7.2

Features:

All applications upgraded via Debian Testing repositories to 27 December 2010.
Bugs from antiX-M8.5 fixed.
antiX-full now defaults to an icewm-rox desktop though other options are available in the boot menu.
Chinese, Japanese and Korean fonts included in antiX-full, as well as ibus.
no /etc/X11/xorg.conf file is created by default, there is an option to create one by removing the noxorg cheat at boot.
wallpaper is now set by feh and not nitrogen. The wallpaper application sets for icewm-rox, icewm, fluxbox-rox and fluxbox desktops. make sure you choose the correct one :)
some new applications, replacements and removals. eg umt-panel2 (from aptosid) added for GPRS/UMTS/3G
a basic cli-installer is included in all flavours. Useful for those with very little RAM.
new icewm and fluxbox menu structure and better auto-update
vim included
further localisation 37 languages supported
Installer available in English, Catalan, Czech,French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Hungarian, Portuguese(Brazilian), Ukrainian.
new cheatcodes, see below.

New cheatcodes: