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Slackware Linux
Slackware is the oldest Linux distribution that’s still maintained and putting out new releases today. 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. -
Debian
Debian is an operating system composed only of free, open-source software. The Debian project has been operating since 1993 — over 20 years ago! This widely respected project is still releasing new versions of Debian, but it’s known for moving much more slowly than distributions like Ubuntu or Linux Mint. This can make it more stable and conservative, which is ideal for some systems. -
openSUSE / SUSE Linux Enterprise
openSUSE is a community-created Linux distribution sponsored by Novell. Novell purchased SuSE Linux in 2003, and they still create an enterprise Linux project known as SUSE Linux Enterprise. Like Fedora, openSUSE is a more bleeding edge version of Linux. -
CentOS / Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Red Hat uses trademark law to prevent their official Red Hat Enterprise Linux software from being redistributed. However, the core software is free and open-source. CentOS is a community project that takes the Red Hat Enterprise Linux code, removes all Red Hat’s trademarks, and makes it available for free use and distribution. -
Arch Linux
It is composed mostly of free and open source software (FOSS) and supports community participation. The development team's design approach follows the KISS Principle as a general guideline, and focuses on elegance, accuracy, minimalism and simplicity, and expects the user to be willing to make an effort to understand the operation of the system. The package manager written specifically for Arch, called Pacman, is used to install, remove and update packages. -
Ubuntu
Ubuntu has been ported to more architectures: ARM, PowerPC, SPARC and IA-64.
Like most desktop systems based on Linux, Ubuntu is able to update all the applications installed on the machine at the same time through repositories. Ubuntu is being translated into more than 130 languages, 2 and each user is able to collaborate voluntarily to this cause, through the Internet. -
Linux Mint
Linux Mint maintains an updated inventory, a stable operating system for the average user, with a strong emphasis on usability and ease of installation. It is recognized for being easy to use, especially for users without previous Linux experience. -
Fedora
Fedora is a project with a strong focus on free software — you won’t find an easy way to install proprietary graphics drivers here, although third-party repositories are available. Fedora is bleeding edge and contains the latest versions of software. It uses “upstream” software, providing a platform that integrates all this upstream software without adding their own custom tools or patching it too much. -
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. 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. -
Mageia / Mandriva
Like Fedora and openSUSE, this is a community-created project to create an open-source Linux distribution. Mandriva SA no longer creates a consumer Linux distribution for desktop PCs, but their business Linux server projects are based on Mageia code
