10 of the Most Popular Linux Distributions
1. Ubuntu
It is the best-known distribution of Linux. Its design has made Linux to be widely used as a desktop operating system.
2. Red Hat Linux
It is well-known for consistency and reliability. Even though it is not easy to use, it provides high-quality support, which is much appreciated by the companies. Hence, many companies in the U.S. prefer to use Red Hat Linux.
3. Fedora
This Linux is sponsored by Red Hat. Fedora is experimental in nature and involves the Open Source Community.
4. Mandriva Linux
It is commonly used in home computer as installation in user-friendly. But default, it runs the KDE Windows (graphical desktop environment).
5. SuSE Linux
It can be considered as an alternative for Windows. It has user-friendly installation and configuration tools. This Linux does not provide ISO installation images for free download, however it allows free FTP installation.
6. Lycoris Linux
This Linux distribution is user-friendly and is considered as a good first-time choice for the beginners. It is designed to focus mainly on transitioning from Windows operating system.
7. Xandros Linux
This Linux is reliable and can form a good choice for the beginners. However, it has proprietary components that do not allow for re-distribution and thus the user cannot have free download.
8. Slackware Linux
Slackware is another institution. Founded in 1993, Slackware is the oldest Linux distribution that’s still maintained and putting out new releases today.
Its pedigree shows — like Arch, Slackware dispenses with all those unnecessary graphical tools and automatic configuration scripts. There’s no graphical installation procedure — you’ll have to partition your disk manually and then run the setup program. Slackware boots to a command-line environment by default. It’s a very conservative Linux distribution.
9. Puppy Linux
Puppy Linux is another fairly well-known Linux distribution. Previous versions have been built on Ubuntu, but the latest is built on Slackware. Puppy is designed to be a small, lightweight operating system that can run well on very old computers. The puppy ISO file is 161 MB, and Puppy can boot from that disc in a live environment. Puppy can run on PCs with 256 MB or RAM, although it does recommend 512 MB for the best experience.
Puppy isn’t the most modern and doesn’t have all the flashiest bells and whistles, but it can help you revive an old PC.
10. Arch Linux
Arch Linux is more old school than many of the other Linux distributions here. It’s designed to be flexible, lightweight, minimal, and to “Keep it Simple.” Keeping it simple doesn’t mean Arch provides tons of graphical utilities and automatic configuration scripts to help you set up your system. Instead, it means Arch dispenses with that stuff and gets out of your way.
You’re in charge of configuring your system properly and installing the software you like. Arch doesn’t provide an official graphical interface for its package manager or complex graphical configuration tools. Instead, it provides clean configuration files designed for easy editing. The installation disc dumps you at a terminal, where you’ll need to enter the appropriate commands to configure your system, partition your disks, and install the operating system yourself.
Arch uses a “rolling release” model, which means any installation image is just a snapshot of the current software. Every bit of software will be updated over time without you needing to upgrade to a new “release” of Arch.
This distribution has a bit in common with Gentoo, which was popular at one time. Both Linux distributions are designed for users who know how their systems work or who are at least willing to learn. However, Arch uses binary packages while Gentoo had an (unnecessary) focus on compiling every bit of software from source — this means it’s quick to install software on Arch as you don’t have to spend CPU cycles and time waiting for software to compile.
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