Under the assumption that you will have a low-end machine (considering PIII, assumption is limited RAM and IDE transfer speeds) and possible high end usage (a collection of people all accessing the same files at the same time) - I'd say your best bet is to go with a distribution that is either Debian-based or has a similar package manager to Debian's APT (I'm not just saying that because I prefer Debian 
).
The reasoning is:
• With limited resources and high network usage (such as file server) you would see gains by not installing an X-Server (the GUI) and having a minimal install. This would reduce the hard drive space and RAM usage, allowing for more to be allocated to SAMBA.
• Since you are foregoing the GUI, you will want an easy way to get updates. With apt, the command would be "apt-get update && apt-get upgrade". Since this is a script package manager that checks against a repository, you don't have to use a web browser or a GUI.
If you go with Debian, I would suggest downloading their Net-Install disc (fits on a CD with room to spare) and when it gets to the task-sel portion (will ask if this is a desktop, laptop, etc. computer) just click cancel. This will give you a starting bare bones system without X or other large programs. You can then "apt-get install samba" and any other programs you need to get the server up and running with a small footprint.
EDIT => In rereading I see you want to turn over to a person with limited or no Linux knowledge. You can save them from learning the command line by saving the "sudo apt-get update && apt-get upgrade && exit" into a text file in their home directory. Do a chmod +x <file> to make it executable. Then your instructions to them would be to login and type ./filename to do updates. This would update and log them out when done.
Last edited by trilarian; 01-26-2009 at 03:10 PM.
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to pause and reflect."
-Mark Twain
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