Whoppix is a Knoppix-based (which is in turn Debian-based) Live-CD with lots of, um, “penetration testing” tools included. It’s a heavier weight distro with a lot more tools than PHLAK, but what really amazed me was that my Linksys WPC11 worked just fine with Whoppix. I currently use my internal Broadcomm wireless with NDISWrapper, but I’ve been trying off and on to get the PCMCIA card working so that I have options.
I’m a hardcore Gnome guy as of late, thanks to the wonders of Ubuntu, which does an amazing job of putting a lot of stuff in the “just works” category while getting out of my way. It had been awhile since I had taken a look at KDE, and I’ve got to say that the latest release looks good, though I’m still going to stick with utilitarianism over candy coated widgets.
I will probably use my experience with Whoppix to motivate me to try the latest kernel to see it I can get my WPC11 working with my HP ze4430us laptop under Ubuntu. Currently my WPC11 is like a magic key that brings my system to a complete halt when I plug it in. I will definitely be keeping a copy of Whoppix in my bag though, as it has tons of great tools that can be very useful when doing penetration testing of in-house stuff.