ubuntu is a good choice :)
I tried Ubuntu LiveCD to see what kind of performance I'm getting on there, but for some reason compiled programs never 'do' anything on it.
The Gnome desktop works just fine, and when I launch a blitzMax compiled executable on it it does get started (the program appears in the process list, and remains there) but nothing will ever show up on the screen.
It doesn't switch to a full screen blitzmax app, all I see is the desktop.