What are the different Linux Operating systems?

Question

What are the different Linux OS's?

I'm kinda confused on what is what with Linux. Anyone have a list of all the different types, and dates when they were released?

Thanks...

From what i can tell, there is a ubuntu based version, mint, and a couple others... Which is the best from all of them? and the newest?

Answer 1

As you know Linux is open source and Linux Developers change code according to their need and concept. Then they compile and release that with new Name. So you can find many of Linux Distribution over Internet. All of they use Linux Kernel and that is almost same of every Linux.



Some of these Developers released with GNU/GPL License and some has started to sell that. You can check more about various Linux versions and Release dates in Wikipedia.

Answer 2

People on Answers think they know about Linux, but they know nothing about it at all PERIOD, Linux operating system is up dated ever 30 days,



Linux is a free operating system, That anyone can use. Red Hat, Suse Linux, Ubuntu and the 350 other distributions all use the Linux operating system and put the Free Linux software packages to the Linux operating system,



Here is the top 100 Linux distribution

http://www.distrowatch.com



Here is where you get all the Linux software from all 45,500 packages,

http://www.sourceforge.net



Here is the Linux foundation website, watch the video on How Linux is built

http://www.linuxfoundation.org/



Here are the top IT companies that Support and are memberes of the Linux Foundation.

http://www.linuxfoundation.org/about/members Microsoft,even contributes to Linux operating system



Now if you checked the web links out you will have learned, What, When Why and How Linux came about.

Answer 3

Linux is just the kenrel.



People then add a lot OSS software (much of it GNU) to create a distribution with the kernel, shells and tools needed to do actually usefull work.



You can judge dates/newness by the kernel version. Current is 3.4, and a new one comes out about every two month. Anything with a 3 series kernel is less than a year old.



3.0 is the same version as 2.40 (if they had not called it 3.0), so 2.39 is just a few months older than 3.0.



Which one is best depends on your personal preference and what you want to do with them. Start by running a few live CD's to get a feel for the layout and then install into a virtual machine (if you if good enough hardware to do so).



Mint and Ubuntu are booth good choices for a beginner, good documentation, and forums. Mint is a little more focused on the desktop, while Ubuntu is experimenting with other form factors, so I would nedge you towards mint if you are looking at a desktop system.

Answer 4

If you're fairly new with Linux, I would go with Ubuntu (or Xubuntu) 10 or 11, or Linux Mint 10 or 11 to start. They'll get you started.



One of the 'core' Linux Distributions is Debian. Ubuntu is Debian-based, and Mint is Ubuntu-based. It's complex, I know. Disregard Ubuntu or Mint 12 for now - stick with v10 as it has longer Long Term Support, meaning upgrades for all the software packages will be available for longer.



Ubuntu comes with a Desktop called Gnome, which some like, some don't. Xubuntu is just Ubuntu with a different Desktop called XFCE, which is my personal favourite. (This is one key point where Linux differes from Windows - over the top of the core Linux Kernel, you have a choice of Desktops, Gnome, KDE, LXDE, FluxBox, and many others. Stick with the first three.)



Once you get into Linux, eventually you'll be GRUB DB'ing Slax with Crunch#!Bang and VM'ing into Arch. And if you don't understand that, definately stay with Ubuntu or Mint. :-))

Answer 5

Linux is different than other operating systems you might be familiar with. There is no one organization that "owns" linux. Anybody, even individual people, are free to take the linux kernal and make their own version to suit their needs.



I think that's the main source of your confusion: Linux isn't a single operating system, it's many different ones created by many different entities that all just happen to share the same core software at the lowest level.



Since each distribution is made by a different organization for a different purpose, you can't really say which is "better". Each distribution does the job it was designed for very well. For instance, you mentioned Ubuntu (made by the Ubuntu organization). The goal with that one was to make a linux distribution that was extremely user friendly for the novice home user to handle, so that it could be an alternative to people who were tired of MacOS and Windows. So it does the "user friendly" thing very well, and is a great choice if that's what you're looking for, but you may find it deficient if you were hoping for something else.



And there's not any one that's "newest" either. Most distributions release regular updates and newer versions at various intervals, so they're all pretty much equally modern.



A list of different Linux distributions (but remember this list is NOT exhaustive.... there are hundreds of distributions and anybody can make their own at any time, so it's impossible to list them all!)



Ubuntu - Built for extreme user friendliness for novice users



Mint - An offshoot of Ubuntu, user friendliness is still the key goal but it takes a slightly different approach than ubuntu does.



RedHat (Fedora) - Built for people who want to run servers quickly and efficiently



ArchLinux - Built to be as small and basic as technically possible, so that it can fit on tiny, weaker devices. I've even heard ArchLinux being used to power a wristwatch computer!



PHLAK (Professional Hacker's Linux Assault Kit) - Built for network security professionals who want to test out the security on their computers.



PuppyLinux - Built to be a "portable" distribution, meaning it can run off a USB thumb drive without having to actually install anything on the computer itself.



Android - Built to run smartphones/tablets. Many people don't realize that when Google went to make the Android system they actually based it off the Linux kernal.

Answer 6

Seems that you are a starter in linux.so Just go with linux mint.after a bit of time that you get familiar with it you will know all the talks about different distributions your self

Answer 7

What is Linux

http://tldp.org/LDP/intro-linux/html/chap_01.html



Overall a Linux based platform can perform most of the tasks equally as well as a proprietary platform using OSS. However Linux does have its limitations particularly in gaming.



Grab a budget pack of blank DVD-R's and head to DISTROWATCH.COM download a few distros. and create some LiveDVD's

http://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=major

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BurningIsoHowto







LUg.

Answer 8

just for fun, here's a graphic that shows most of the linux distributions. it is a big picture, with lots of branches. have fun studying it.

http://futurist.se/gldt/wp-content/uploads/12.02/gldt1202.png



btw - my favorite distro is Mint.

Answer 9

to add to your list: fedora, redhat (very expensive)



the most widely used is ubuntu. Which means it has the most developers behind it. I'd go with Ubuntu 11.10 or try the 12.04 beta.

Answer 10

Here is the complete answer to your question mate:



http://www.scribd.com/doc/17246132/List-of-Linux-Distributions



All of them!

Answer 11

http://www.distrowatch.com