Optimize MySQL

I recently got my first dedicated server and now have it all up and running. I would like to optimize mySQL for improved performance.

Server running: CentOS 5, Tomcat, mySQL 5

Most queries: Single line queries (SELECT * FROM table WHERE name='John')
NOTE: Most of my queries include the return of at least one blob (size range 100kb to 1Mb)

Server Specs: Dual Core Intel Pentium 3Ghz, 4GB RAM, 500Gb hard disk

Below is my current my.cnf file:

Code:
[mysqld]
datadir=/var/lib/mysql
socket=/var/lib/mysql/mysql.sock
# Default to using old password format for compatibility with mysql 3.x
# clients (those using the mysqlclient10 compatibility package).
old_passwords=1
max_allowed_packet=16M
skip-innodb
skip-bdb

[mysql.server]
user=mysql
basedir=/var/lib

[mysqld_safe]
log-error=/var/log/mysqld.log
pid-file=/var/run/mysqld/mysqld.pid

I've looked through the mySQL documentation but there is no substitute for experience when it comes to these things.