What Linux distribution would you recommend for a host with sole function of displaying an informational WWW page to the public with minimum maintenance?
The hardware is a rather simple PC with LAN connectivity. Its only function would be to connect to network and open web browser in full screen on startup, displaying non-interactive information table updated in real time, served as a dynamic, self-refreshing web page from a remote server.
It would be good if the distro could perform as many maintenance functions as possible unattended, and require as little human interaction as possible, above all never demand any interactions through the main screen – any maintenance would be performed remotely over SSH, alerts sent to admin through email.
Best Answer
If this "appliance" will solely present a web page that auto-refreshes, what maintenance ?
A 10-year-old Linux would do the job :)
I would suggest a minimal debian or slackware - really, anything uber-stable with a mininal X environment.
You could easily run this off a 1GB USB stick.