If you're looking for a distribution for an aging machine and you want to go with something other than a Ubuntu-based distribution, walk through the Arch with Omega.

Of course, if it grows too popular, you-know-who will try to shut it down ...

PCWorld’s guide helps users navigate the overwhelming choice of approximately 250 Linux distributions by focusing on five main strains: Debian, Red Hat/Fedora, Arch, Slackware, and Gentoo.

Arch Linux is not for the faint of heart. The reason for this is the installation, which is no walk in the park (unless said park is a convoluted mess of climbs, pitfalls, rope ladders, and monsters).

From just learning to code to seasoned developers, these are your distros of choice.