The Best General Purpose Linux Distributions

A distribution (also called distro) is a member of the Linux family of computer operating systems. They are built around the Linux kernel and consist of a large variety of software. Here’s a list of some of the best general purpose and most popular open and free distributions:

Ubuntu is a complete desktop Linux operating system, freely available with both community and professional support. “Ubuntu” is an ancient African word, meaning “humanity to others”. The Ubuntu distribution brings the spirit of Ubuntu to the software world.

• The distribution is very user friendly, especially for beginners.
• It is supported by a very large community. A lot of information and answers to problems can be found in the Ubuntu forums.
• Ubuntu is sponsored by Canonical Ltd, owned by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth, one of the first space tourists.
• Ubuntu releases new versions every six months, and supports those releases for 18 months with daily security fixes and patches to critical bugs. LTS (Long Term Support) releases are supported for 3 years for desktops and 5 years for servers.

Mint is an Ubuntu-based distribution whose goal is to provide a more complete out-of-the-box experience by including browser plugins, media codecs, support for DVD playback, Java and other components. It also adds a custom desktop and menus, several unique configuration tools, and a web-based package installation interface. Linux Mint is compatible with software built and packaged for Ubuntu.

SUSE is an acronym for the German phrase “Software- und System-Entwicklung” (“Software and system development”), however a rumour still circulates that the name is a tribute to the German computer pioneer Konrad Zuse. The community project openSUSE is an effort to reach a wide audience of users and developers.

• It is sponsored by Novell.
• SUSE includes an installation and administration program called YaST2 which handles hard disk partitioning, system setup, RPM package management, online updates, network and firewall configuration, user administration and more in an integrated interface.
• Many Linux innovations are originally developed as part of the SUSE project.

Sabayon is an advanced, scalable Linux distribution from Italy. It focuses in cutting edge software and hardware support and it is a showcase of the latest Linux technologies. “Sabayon” is the name of an Italian desert, made with raw eggs.

• miniEditions are single-CD and LiveCD releases of the distribution, normally introduced a week or two after a DVD release.
• A feature named “Entropy“, exclusive to Sabayon, incorporates package management.
• It is based on the Gentoo distribution.

Fedora is an openly-developed project designed by Red Hat, open for general participation, led by a meritocracy, following a set of project objectives. The goal of The Fedora Project is to build a complete, general purpose operating system exclusively from open source software.

• Development is done in a public forum.
• The project will produces time-based releases of Fedora about 2-3 times a year, with a public release schedule.
• It is the distribution of choice for most of the scientific community and serves as a base for projects like Scientific Linux.

PCLinuxOS places specific emphasis on desktop computing, concentrating its efforts for home or small business environments. It is often abbreviated as PCLOS and it is based on Mandriva.

There are currently over three hundred Linux distributions in active development, constantly being revised and improved. DistroWatch maintains an indicative popularity ranking of distributions on its web site.

All of the above and most other Linux distributions offer Live CDs that allow you to run the operating system without installing it or modifying anything on your system. There’s also the option of installing a distribution inside MS Windows. CD and DVD images can be downloaded and burned via the web or bit torrent. You can buy ready-burned distros online and you can even have them mailed to you for free from some of the developer websites.

If you think that other distributions should be in this list, please leave a comment.