looking for a small linux..

i think you should go for ubuntu.

I like the DSL distro. It really good for older PCs and Laptops.

Download puppy linux from their website. It meets your specifications. There is a USB bootable version which you can download. It comes with seamonkey and dillo browsers and has Abiword word processor and Gnumeric spreadsheet. and a load of other programs like an image editor. While Damnsmall linux and Featherlinux also can be booted from an USB stick, they need more advanced knowledge. Puppy, I feel is very good for beginners.

u can try damnsmalllinux.org I think knoppix live cd can be put into usb too.

Seems I remember back a while ago there was a linux kernal that fit on a floppy disk but I cant remember what it was called. As far as one that fits on a usb stick, depending on the size, there is always Ubuntu, one of the cisks is a live working copy, read only, that shoudln't take up more than 500 meg, probabbly plenty of room on the stick for that.

The smallest distribution with your requirements that I know of is DSL (Damn Small Linux). http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/ You can also check out the following links: http://www.frozentech.com/content/livecd.php (a list of popular distros) http://www.linux-live.org/ (a how to page for creating your own distro) Hope this helps. I've personally tried DSL and enjoyed it immensely.

This is much more difficult than most people realise. The suggestion of DSL (damn Small Linux) is a good choice, but it is not easy to get the USB drive to boot. I have seen several tutorials on this subject and used a number of methods to install Linux and the boot files, but I have not managed to succeed yet.

I also installed DSL, 2 years ago, not on a usb key, but on an old laptop. As mentioned before, the distro's footprint is just around 50MB. It comes with a simple desktop (I think it is called flukebox). Also it comes with Firefox, an email reader, a media player, a text editor...A lot of stuff for just 52MB.

Is possible make on usb support amy linux distros..... well damn small is the smallest only 50MB :-)

Here there is a tutorial about Damnsmall linux distro: http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=prjQ7MwuCWI

Try SLAX. Its based on the Slackware distro and designed to fit in a cd or usb stick. The basic web surfing tools are already in the distro and you can just throw anything else you fancy into one of the directories and it will start running. The only catch is that it's pretty limited in terms of programs available. But since you're looking for something simple, easy to use, this will do great :) You can find it here: http://www.slax.org/

I second the recommendation of Damn Small Linux.

Friend! You can try Puppy Linux at www.puppylinux.com This is amazing linux which i never saw!

It seems that Ubuntu distribution can satisfy your request. Last year i read a news about mini Linux Dritributed by ubuntu, and you can try it!

u can try damnsmalllinux.org I think knoppix live cd can be put into usb too.

Knoppix is my first choice to run Linux from a CD, it is also possible to build a Knoppix on a USB stick. Another interesting small Linux for USB is name Damn Small Linux, which can be find at http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/, it is only 52M, try to find more information from the office website. It include Firefox as you desired.