or The Hacker Ethic.I can't seem to help myself, I keep reading and hearing snippets of information about different Linux distributions and there doesn't seem to be a place where they are collected and summarised so that people who are new to Linux can make a decent choice. So I'm going to create such a place, and here's where it starts (I'll sort out the format as I go along).
The views here aren't mine, they aren't even going to be consistent. I'll just try to collect and organise what I see and hear. Obviously you use what's here at your own risk.
Personally, I can't think of better leisure or holiday reading than Free as in Freedom
According to the editorial team at professional news weekly Computing (not recommended reading, I'm just using them as a springboard for my point), reading their publication in the morning commute can get you chatted up. Imagine how much more sexy you will look reading something that says "yes, I'm a geek (high earning potential, intelligent) but I have high ethical standards too. I have a heart". Get them books ordered!
| Name | USP/target | Popularity | Review verdicts | Successful installations | Default desktop | URL | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arch Linux | Simple, lightweight, flexible | -/1 | www.archlinux.org/ | ||||
| Catux | Can be run from a USB pendrive, Catalan language support | 0/1 | www.catux.org/ | Knoppix | |||
| CentOS | 8/2 | 2006: Linux User readers nominated for best distribution. | 0/1 | www.centos.org/ | |||
| CoLinux | Will run alongside Windows | 0/1 | www.colinux.org/ | ||||
| Damn Small Linux | /1 | 50MB live CD, 32MB memory requirement (Linux Format Feb 2006) | Knoppix | ||||
| Debian | The most free (as in freedom). Reputation for being difficult to install (Linux Format Feb 2006) | 39/23 | 1/2 | www.debian.org/ | |||
| Dyne:bolic | Multimedia | 0/2 | Live CD | dynebolic.org | |||
| Edubuntu | /2 | ||||||
| Feather | /1 | / | |||||
| Fedora | Wide audience, productivity worker, developers, sysads. Not for beginners. LXF72: 'Stressful' | 15/23 | FC4 4/10 (LXF69 Aug 2005). Hardest for installing new s/w | 0/1 | Gnome | fedora.redhat.com | |
| Foresight Linux | Showcases the latest and greatest from Gnome | 1/1 | Gnome | foresightLinux.com | |||
| Gentoo | LXF72: Focuses on configurability, optimisation and good support, which is needed because you build this system from scratch | 9/4 | 0/1 | www.gentoo.org | |||
| Kanotix | From their site: "A rock-solid Linux, based on Debian, which contains the newest packages and recognizes more modern hardware than any other operating system in use today". | 1/1 | kanotix.com | Debian | |||
| Knoppix | 17/8 | V4.0 8/10 (LXF72 Nov 2005) | 0/1 | KDE | Debian | ||
| Linspire | Ease of use | 2/14 | The easiest (Tux Dec 2005) | KDE | www.linspire.com | ||
| Lycoris | 1/1 | KDE | www.lycoris.com | ||||
| Mandriva | Not cost free, good for laptops | 6/29 | LXF 73 7/10: brilliant configuration utilities, unprecedented hardware support, but questions about how it will develop, and just 6/10 for features and documentation. New Linux user. Had a reputation for bleeding edge that's not so true nowadays (Linux Format Feb 2006) | 0/1 | KDE | frontal2.mandriva.com | |
| MEPIS | 1/10 | www.mepis.org/ | Debian | ||||
| muLinux | muLinux is a minimalistic Linux distribution, suitable for old computers. | 0/1 | mulinux.dotsrc.org/ | ||||
| PCLinuxOS | Appears to attempt to mimic Windows. | 1/3 | www.pclinuxonline.com/pclos/ | Mandriva | |||
| Puppy | /1 | ||||||
| Red Hat Enterprise | /8 | ||||||
| Redhawk | /1 | ||||||
| Slackware | Reputation for being difficult to install (Linux Format Feb 2006) | -/8 | Linux Format 74 (Christmas 2005) rated Slackware v10.2 7/10 | ||||
| Stampede Linux | 0.6/1 | stampede.org | |||||
| StudioToGo | A live CD for computer musicians | 0/1 | ferventsoftware.com | ||||
| Sun Wah Linux | Hong Kong based, has provided on a large-scale to Chinese education department and schools | 0.3/1 | www.sw-linux.com | ||||
| SUSE | Not cost-free | 25/29 | 2006: Linux User readers nominated for best distribution. LXF73 9/10. TUX readers' second favourite (2005), LXF72: aimed at the mass market, not really for programmers. Good hardward support. | 0/1 | Gnome/KDE | www.novell.com/linux/suse | |
| TurboLinux | -/3 | LXF72: TurboLite for low end machines | |||||
| (K)Ubuntu | Usability, int'l focus, free of charge | 10/26 | 2006: Linux User readers voted best distribution. Linux Format 74 (Christmas 2005) rated Ubuntu v5.10 9/10. TUX readers' favourite (2005) | 0/2 | Gnome | www.ubuntulinux.org/ | Debian |
| Vector Linux | Light, for older machines. | -/2 | Great for low end, older h/w (Tux Nov 2005) | vectorlinux.com/ | Slackware | ||
| Xandros | 1/9 | Good for a Linux user on a Windows network (Tux Dec 2005) | KDE | www.xandros.com | |||
| Zenwalk | /1 |
Key: The popularity score is how many millions of pages Google.co.uk finds for that distribution (run on 21/11/05 or later) / the number of mentions I've read or seen or heard and bothered to write down since mid November 2005. Popularity is important because it determines how many people are out there who can help when you have a problem, and you will have a problem. Installations is a count of how many times I've personally attempted to install that distribution: succeeded/total.
Feel free to contact me with any suggestions or amendments.
Last updated: 18 November 2007.