what is the easiest beginner distro?

hi! I am new to linux and want a distro that is easy to use and is easy to install. I also want to be able to use it from a 2gb pen drive

Really very good advice re pendrive.com. I did exactly that some time ago. If you are uncertain about doing the install yourself you can purchase a drive from them with a system already installed, which is what I did. (Doing the install yourself is not terribly hard. Their scripts are good.) I think you also would find that Xubuntu 8.10 will run nicely, though I would suggest at least a 4 gig jumpdrive. Pendrive may have it prepackaged at this point. The Ubuntu forums are very hospitable for new users. For any Ubuntu, put the Psychocats site on your list of places to explore. It is solid and a good starting place for new Ubuntuns. BTW, when you are comfortable take a look at Puppy Linux 4.12. It runs quickly from a LiveCD because it is small enough to load the entire thing into memory. You use a jumpdrive (or is it pendrive???) to hold your settings (such as browser favourites) and that gives you a customised system with no footprint on a desktop system. Puppy is well done and very nice especially if you travel.