I saw this on Slashdot and perhaps give it a chance here.

What about a project/TOOL that allowed you to create your own Knoppix CD? You choose the packages you want included using this tool and it will build the ISO for you! Essentially, a tool that does an apt get/update and builds the iso. I am only 1 week on this Linux thing, but I'm ready to learn more - thanks to Knoppix.