![]() PC World calls security “one of Linux's many advantages over Windows” and offers five reasons why it is more secure. Linux is often viewed as more secure, too. But in recent years Linux distributions have become far more sophisticated and user-friendly, and the cost of deployment can be a fraction of more traditional large-scale desktop installations. Relatively few companies consider the option of Linux on the desktop. Any inroads made against it have come from macOS X, typically in marketing and creative divisions. Microsoft Windows continues to rule the enterprise on the desktop. There’s a very good chance that the big iron that composes the backbone of your company’s digital world is powered by Linux.Ĭhances are also good that it’s not on many of your desktops, if any. The operating system is running file servers, print servers, content delivery systems, global caching servers, data archives, VPN servers - you name it. The whole OS is small enough to run directly from system RAM, so applications start quickly and respond to user input instantly.As anyone in IT can tell you, Linux has invaded the server room. (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. 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. Though not in the top 10 currently, Slackware is similarly oriented toward Linux gurus. Arch Linux… plus SlackwareĪrch is another package aimed primarily at experienced users interested in tweaking and optimizing their systems. Both are considered advanced Linux distributions aimed primarily at experienced users. Italian Sabayon is essentially a LiveCD version of Gentoo, which is known for allowing users to individually optimize each component. It recently restructured, with the result that some view the future of its community version as uncertain. Nevertheless, Mandriva has been struggling lately as a result of some controversial decisions made by its French maker. It was also the first major distribution to jump on the netbook bandwagon with out-of-the box support. Debian also has a relatively slow release cycle, with stable ones coming out every one to three years.įormerly known as Mandrake, Mandriva is notable for its cutting-edge software, excellent administration suite and 64-bit edition. The distro uses all open-source components, which is a good thing, but means it can be more difficult to achieve compatibility with proprietary code such as wireless network drivers. Though it serves as the foundation for Ubuntu, most view Debian as a distro best-suited for those experienced with Linux. Debianĭating back to 1993, Debian is currently known as one of the most well-tested and bug-free distros available today. Its release cycle can be erratic, though, and there is also no 64-bit version of the software. With good support for graphics drivers, browser plugins and media codecs, PCLinuxOS can be a good choice for beginners. Rather than GNOME, PCLinuxOS uses the KDE desktop environment and is essentially a lighter-weight version of Mandriva (see below). I’d say openSUSE rates a “medium” on difficulty level. The package’s administration utility, YaST, is widely acknowledged as one of the best, and its boxed edition comes with some of the best printed documentation you’ll find for any distro. ![]() ![]() 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. With some 1,200 hits per day on Distrowatch, openSUSE holds the No. Most of these differ primarily by offering a desktop environment other than Ubuntu’s standard GNOME. It’s also worth understanding that Ubuntu is available in various remixes and spin-off sub-distros targeted at specific niches, such as Kubuntu, Xubuntu and Lubuntu. The final iteration of that version is due out next month. Version 10.10 of Ubuntu–also known as Maverick Meerkat–will include a multitouch and gesture stack. Ubuntu is also notable for its ease of use and its inclusion of a migration assistant for Windows users and support for the latest technologies. It has a predictable, six-month release schedule, with occasional Long Term Support (LTS) versions that are supported with security updates for three to five years. Ubuntu is based on Debian (see below) and includes well-known apps such as Firefox and. Founded by South African millionaire Mark Shuttleworth, Canonical–the company behind Ubuntu–for many years shipped Ubuntu CDs to interested users for free, thus speeding its market penetration. Ubuntu is actually a relatively late arrival on the Linux scene, having been announced in just 2004, but it’s more than made up for that shorter history.
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