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Linux is the OpenSource operating system developed by Linus Torvald (yeah, yeah, its much more …).  Different distributions of linux are available, like Ubuntu, Fedora, OpenSuSe and Mandriva and many more.  For a list of distributrions, see these sites:

• Linux.com
• Linuxlinks
• Linux Distros

When I first started out with Linux in the late 90′s, I started with Mandriva.  But I remember wondering what is this distibutions-thingy; remember, coming from Windows, there is only….well,  Windows from Micrsoft.  So how can there be so many Linux OSs.  Maybe one can say, distros is like Win 95, SE, ME, Vista, XP, Win7…. or, maybe not.  Anyway, distributions are a flavor of Linux, developed by a person or a team to their own liking.  This is what is so cool about Linux – you can take the source code of a distribution and change it to, well, YOUR distro.

So which is the best?  One can actually not really say this or that distro is the best as they are different – like people.  Therefore, different people will like different distros for different reasons; and….. on different hardware.  But, if you would be forced to choose; no, if I would have to choose from those I have played around with; no, if I would have to choose from this list (Top10 Distros), my list would look like this:

1. Fedora:  I’ve played with Fedora from the first one as I was a Red Hat fan.  Fedora is basically, in laymen’s terms, the “free” version of the old Red Hat Linux (now Red Hat Enterprise Linux RHEL).  I like the look-and-feel; the ease of installation; the compatibility with older laptops, pc’s, wifi drivers etc.  And then of course the blue…
2. Ubuntu: OK, I’m a South African and is supposed to favor and loooove Ubuntu, but I have my reservations.  Why?  Well, the Ubuntu I’ve played with (and yes, it was way back which might have changed by now; apparently it did), did not install seamlessly, did not install all drivers seamlessly and certain drivers and issues could never be fixed (yes, I’m not a super-user, but that’s exactly the point isn’t it, it should be easy for the most newbie user ever).  I mean, if the idea is to linuxise Africa with F/LOSS software, it must be newbie-friendly!  Just an after thought – why the brownish theme? (But remember, you can change color schemes so don’t let that influence your decision).
3. CentOS: OK, I know this is not really a desktop OS and is more server-like, but still, its clean, easy and if you want to mimick RHEL, this one would do!
4. openSuSe
5. Mandriva
6. Mint: Not a happy time with mint, but worth to give it a try again.
7. PCLinux: Not a happy time with PCLinux either.  Many crashes, drivers not installed, killing processes etc.  However, PCLinux is the closest to Windows you can get (although many other distro’s are resembling the Windows GUI nowadays).

Lifehacker’s list of top 5 distros:

1. openSUSE
2. Ubuntu / Debian / LinuxMint
3. Fedora
4. Arch Linux
5. Gentoo

Notes:  I’ve installed Mint and was terribly disapointed with the many “crashes” – genrally I did not had a happy time with Mint.  I’ll give it a try again!
My first try with Gentoo was way back when you had to compile your everything; so as a newbie, I never could get my Gentoo installed and working.  Definitely I think for the Linux expert.

Another Top 10 list – good one as he distinguishes between desktops, laptops and server installations:

1. Ubuntu
2. openSUSE

Another top 10 list at MyBroadband.

OK, that’s my opinion….

Usefull Linux sites:

• Linux Questions
• Linux.com
• distrowatch.com

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