when I started this project I was still very new to linux. I have used it over the years when i needed to for pc recovery and other short projects but having used laptops for many years did not have a true everyday linux system. This project started with a very old PC W98 system but i wanted something newer and more up to date so in all my research i came across Peppermint. it was a stripped down version of mint linux meant for older system to run light weight. I had tried to install a few different linux builds on the w98 system but having only 6gb hdd it was a huge issue. Peppermint was the answer it only needed 4gb hhd to run and only 128ram. Peppermint was what really got this project going but because it was so light weight it was missing things that i need to push linux to it true power. after over a year of using Peppermint I installed Mint 16 64bit linux to Phoenix. Now comes the part of getting all my programs installed again. I have to say I love linux and wish i could use it full time and I do plan on it as much as I can. I still need windows 7 when I want to use some websites and some programs like Solidworks, but the point it to learn new things and push myself.