One of the most confusing things for the newcomer to Linux is how many distributions, or versions, of the operating system there are. Ubuntu is the one most people have heard of, but there are hundreds of others as well, each offering some variant on the basic Linux theme.
1. Ubuntu
Yes, Ubuntu has become the poster child for Linux these days, and no wonder--it's the most popular distro by far, garnering more than 2,200 hits per day on the Distrowatch site alone, compared with some 1,400 for Fedora, the No. 2 contender.
2. Fedora
Fedora is the free version of Red Hat, whose RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux) has been a commercial product since 2003. Because of that close connection, Fedora is particularly strong on enterprise features, and it often offers them before RHEL does.
3. Linux Mint
Currently in Distrowatch's third spot in popularity, Linux Mint is an Ubuntu-based distro that was just launched in 2006. The operating system adds to Ubuntu with its own, distinct desktop theme and a different set of applications; also unique to the distro are a variety of graphical tools for enhanced usability, such as mintDesktop for configuring the desktop environment, mintInstall for easier software installation and mintMenu for easier navigation.
4. openSUSE
With some 1,200 hits per day on Distrowatch, openSUSE holds the No. 4 spot in popularity on the site and is also the foundation for Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server products.
5. PCLinuxOS
Rather than GNOME, PCLinuxOS uses the KDE desktop environment and is essentially a lighter-weight version of Mandriva (see below). With good support for graphics drivers, browser plugins and media codecs, PCLinuxOS can be a good choice for beginners.
6. Debian
Dating back to 1993, Debian is currently known as one of the most well-tested and bug-free distros available today. Though it serves as the foundation for Ubuntu, most view Debian as a distro best-suited for those experienced with Linux.
7. Mandriva
Formerly known as Mandrake, Mandriva is notable for its cutting-edge software, excellent administration suite and 64-bit edition. It was also the first major distribution to jump on the netbook bandwagon with out-of-the box support.
8. Sabayon/Gentoo
Italian Sabayon is essentially a LiveCD version of Gentoo, which is known for allowing users to individually optimize each component. Both are considered advanced Linux distributions aimed primarily at experienced users.
9. Arch Linux... plus Slackware
Arch is another package aimed primarily at experienced users interested in tweaking and optimizing their systems. Though not in the top 10 currently, Slackware is similarly oriented toward Linux gurus.
10. Puppy Linux... plus DSL
Last on Distrowatch's top 10 currently is Puppy Linux, a compact distro that's ideal for older hardware and situations where computing resources are minimal. (Damn Small Linux, incidentally, is similar.) Though it has a small footprint, Puppy is still full-featured and includes a variety of configuration and application installation wizards.
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