Puppy's model is totally different from other distros. It's a single user
system. There's a non-root account that can be used to run networked programs
-- Spot.
http://puppylinux.org/wikka/Spot
There's a 64-bit Puppy.
http://distro.ibiblio.org/puppylinux/puppy-tahr/iso/
http://puppylinux.com/faq.html
Puppy is built with Woof-CE. I'd think it would be interesting to learn. I'd
also think that it would make a perfect beginner learning platform for you.
When you master this, you can move on to other challenges, like Debian and
debootstrap.
http://puppylinux.org/wikka/woof
http://puppylinux.com/index.html
http://puppylinux.com/screenshots.html