Resurrection of old hardware

I've decided to do something about the inspiration that hit me over the holidays. I was rebuilding a machine for a friend of my wife's, and really enjoying myself, the hands on mucking around with figuring out the the hardware problems and reloading the O/S and apps. It reminded me of a post I saw last year on FreecycleTO, from a guy who was rebuilding machines from donated parts and donating it back via FreecycleTO. Old machines were getting a new lease on life, and those that really needed a machine -- any computer -- was getting one gratis. Inspired, I posted the following on FreecycleTO:

I'm looking for old computers and computer spare parts -- stuff that you have lying around that could be used to put together working machines. I've idle hands, and I would like to keep old machines out of the dump, give them a new lease on life and help those who otherwise be left behind in the information age. All rebuilt machines will be loaded with open source software and donated to needy homes.

I wasn't expecting the quick response I got, but I got responses. Monitors, HDs, and other assorted hardware was being promised. Hopefully, I will getting some stuff picked up this weekend, and will start removing the dust, assembling working machines and going nuts with Linux.

So, does anyone know of a good Linux distro for typical home users? According to zegenie Studios Linux Distribution Chooser, I should go with openSUSE, or, for slightly older machines, Ubuntu, Mandriva, Freespire, Kubuntu or Fedora. What would you recommend? Remember, this is heading for a home user who may have limited computer experience.

Freecomputers:

- freecomputer20090117 - delivered to Kathy
- freecomputer20090124 - delivered to Harold
- freecomputer20090202 - delivered to Ida
- freecomputer20090218 - delivered to Harold
- freecomputer20090221 - delivered to Harold
- freecomputer20090226 - available