What you all are saying makes sense and the LiveCD does whet my appetite for Linux---I'm totally new at this. Here's the tech problem I need to solve:

I rotate between work sites that only have terminals with embedded Windows XP and very little RAM. Some of them are networked, some are not. I need a portable OS & environment that I can take between work sites, specifically a database. I tried Portable OpenOffice but the java-based app is too bulky and slow and just isn't practical. Knoppix would be perfect if I can get a working database going, either MySQL or PostgreSQL. I have experience with web design using Access, SQL Server, PHP and MySQL. I know the basic shell commands and I'm not afraid to tinker. It sounds like I need to remaster Knoppix to put in either MySQL or postgreSQL. I have found the FAQ for this and will read it tonight.

Bottom line is: Any other ideas on how to solve this problem? Anything I missed or haven't thought about? In addition to the FAQ, can you recommend a good NOOB resource for customizing Knoppix?.

Thanks in advance