Original address http://www.cnbeta.com/articles/112817.htm
1. Ubuntu
Ubuntu was first announced in September 2004. Although Ubuntu is a relatively late Linux distribution, the project is not as old as other Linux distributions, but its mailing list is quickly filled with eager users and enthusiastic developer discussions. In the ensuing years, Ubuntu grew to be the most popular desktop Linux distribution, and it made great efforts and contributions towards the development of an "easy to use and free" desktop operating system that could compete with any other on the market. Compete with personal operating systems.
What makes Ubuntu such a huge success? First, the project was created by Mark Shuttleworth, a charismatic South African rich man, Debian developer and former world's second space tourist (whose company Isle of Man-based Canonical Ltd is still a commercial project) . Second, Ubuntu learns from the failures of other similar Linux distributions from the very beginning and avoids repeating their mistakes — it creates an excellent web-based wiki-style documentation with a professional approach for end users Created a bug reporting feedback mechanism. Third, thanks to its wealthy founders, Ubuntu was able to give out free CDs to all interested users on the Internet, thus contributing to the rapid expansion of the Ubuntu distribution.
On the technical side, Ubuntu is a Debian-based distribution that includes updates to its latest versions of some well-known packages such as GNOME, Firefox, and OpenOffice.org. It has a predictable release schedule every 6 months, sometimes LTS releases with long term support, generally 3 – 5 years of security update support, depending on the release (18 for non-LTS releases months) support. Other special features of Ubuntu include an installable live CD, art creation and desktop themes, Windows User Migration Assistant, support for the latest new technologies such as 3D desktop effects, easy-to-install ATi and NVIDIA graphics drivers, and wireless device driver support etc., and support non-free or patent-licensed media codecs on demand.
Homepage: http://www.ubuntu.com/
Source: Isle of Man (between the Isle of England and Ireland) Isle of Man
Desktop: GNOME
Type: Beginners, Desktop, Server, Live Medium, Netbooks
Processor Architecture: i386 , powerpc, sparc64, x86_64
based on which distribution: Debian
advantages: fixed release cycle and support period; easy for beginners to learn; rich documentation, both official and user-contributed.
Cons: Lack of compatibility with Debian
Package Management: Advanced Package Management Tool (APT) using deb packages
Available Versions: Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Ubuntu Studio and Mythbuntu Contains 32-bit (i386) and 64-bit (x86_64) processing Ubuntu Server edition (with SPARC processor)
recommended Ubuntu based options: Linux Mint (desktop), gOS (Google Apps desktop), OpenGEU (Enlightenemnt desktop), Ultimate Edition (desktop), CrunchBang Linux (Openbox desktop version), gNewSense (freeware)
2. Fedora
Although Fedora was officially launched in September 2004, its origins can be traced back to 1995. It was jointly created and launched by two Linux visionaries – Bob Young and Marc Ewing (in the name of Red Hat Linux). As the company's first product, Red Hat Linux 1.0 "Mother's Day," was released the same year and was quickly updated to fix some bugs. In 1997, Red Hat launched its revolutionary RPM package management solution and other advanced features, which greatly contributed to the rapid rise and popularity of the distribution, surpassing Slackware Linux to become the most widely used Linux distribution in the world. In subsequent years, Red Hat established a standard, six-monthly release schedule.
In 2003, shortly after releasing the Red Hat Linux 9 system, the company introduced some radical changes to its product line. It retained its commercial product brands, particularly Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and introduced Fedora Core, a Red Hat-sponsored, but community-oriented, core designed for "Linux enthusiasts". The new changes were initially criticized, and the Linux community finally embraced the new distribution "as a logical continuation of Red Hat Linux." A series of high-quality releases restored Fedora to its status as one of the best operating systems on the market. Meanwhile, Red Hat quickly became the largest and most profitable Linux company in the world, with innovative product lines and other interesting features such as its Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) certification program.
While the direction of Fedora, still largely controlled by Red Hat, rightly or not, sometimes appears as a Red Hat Enterprise Linux beta, it cannot be denied that Fedora remains one of the most innovative distributions to this day. Its contributions to the Linux kernel, glibc and GCC are well known, and its more recent feature integration with SELinux, Xen's virtualization technology and other enterprise-level features are appreciated by many corporate customers. The downside is that Fedora's desktop still lacks a clear oriented strategy to make the product easier to use and go beyond the "Linux enthusiast" goal.
Homepage: http://fedoraproject.org/
Source: USA USA
Desktop: GNOME, KDE, LXDE, Openbox, Xfce
Type: Desktop, Server, Live Medium
Processor Architecture: i686, powerpc, x86_64
Based on which distribution: Independent
Advantages: Highly innovative, excellent security features; numerous support packages, strict adherence to free software
Disadvantages: Fedora's priorities tend to favor enterprise application features over desktop usability
Package management: YUM and RPM package management
Available versions: Fedora (i386 ), 64-bit (x86_64) , PowerPC (ppc) processors; Red Hat Enterprise Linux (i386), IA64, PowerPC, s390x and x86_64 architectures; also live CD editions with GNOME or KDE
suggested Fedora-based options: BLAG Linux and GNU (desktop, free software), Berry Linux (live CD), Yellow Dog Linux (Apple PowerPC processor system)
Red Hat-based options are suggested: CentOS, Scientific Linux, StartCom Enterprise Linux
3. OpenSUSE
The beginning of openSUSE can be traced back to 1992, when four German Linux enthusiasts – Roland Dyroff, Thomas Fehr, Hubert Mantel and Burchard Steinbild – jointly launched a project under the SuSE Linux operating system (Software und System Entwicklung). In the early days, the young company sold floppy disks containing the German version of Slackware Linux, but soon in May 1996 SuSE Linux was released as a standalone version starting from version 4.2. In the following years, developers adopted the RPM package management approach and introduced YaST, an easy-to-use graphical system management tool. OpenSUSE's frequent releases, excellent print documentation, and easy availability of SuSE Linux in stores in Europe and North America have made SuSE Linux increasingly popular.
SuSE Linux was acquired by Novell in late 2003. There were major changes in the availability and licensing of SUSE Linux shortly after, YaST was released under the General Public License (GPL), ISO images were freely available from public download servers, and most importantly, the development version was available to the public for the first time open. From the start of the openSUSE project until the release of version 10.0 in October 2005, it finally became a complete and freely distributed version. The openSUSE code has become the base system for Novell's commercial products, initially named Novell Linux, but later renamed SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop for desktop and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for server.
Today, openSUSE has a large and satisfied user following. High marks for openSUSE are user satisfaction and beautiful (KDE and GNOME) desktop environments, excellent system administration tools (YaST), while providing the best print with any available documentation for those who bought the boxed version. But the recent deal between Novell and Microsoft, in which Novell acknowledged Microsoft's claim that it owns the intellectual property for Linux, has led to condemnation from many Linux enthusiasts, and also prompted some users to change other distributions. While Novell has played down the deal, and Microsoft has yet to exercise any rights, the issue remains a thorn in the side of companies that keep Linux pure.
Homepage: http://www.opensuse.org/
Source: Germany Germany
Desktop: Blackbox, GNOME, IceWM, KDE, WMaker, Xfce
Type: Desktop, Server, Live Medium
Processor Architecture: i586, x86_64
Based on which distribution: Independent
Pros: Comprehensive, intuitive configuration tools, extensive software support, excellent website architecture, and beautiful documentation library
Cons: Novell's November 2006 patent deal with Microsoft appears to legitimize Microsoft's intellectual property rights over Linux, which Desktop installation and graphical tools are sometimes considered "bloated and slow"
Package management: YaST graphical and command-line utilities and RPM package management
Available versions: openSUSE 32-bit (i386), 64-bit (x86_64) and PowerPC (PPC) processors (also installable on-site CD version), and SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop/Server for i586 systems, except ia64, PowerPC, s390, s390x and x86_64 architectures
4. Debian
Debian GNU/Linux was first announced in 1993. Its founder is Ian Murdock, who envisioned creating a completely non-commercial distribution in his spare time with the hundreds of volunteer developers he already had. The skeptics at the time were far larger than the optimists, thinking it was doomed to fail and collapse, but the opposite was true. Not only has Debian survived, after nearly 10 years of thriving, it became the largest Linux distribution and possibly the largest collaborative software project to date!
The success of Debian GNU/Linux can be illustrated by the following numbers. With more than 1000 volunteer developers, its software repository contains more than 20,000 packages (compiled for 11 processor architectures), and it is available to more than 120 Debian-based distributions and live CDs. These numbers are unmatched by any other Linux-based operating system. The actual development in Debian consists of three main branches (four if you count "experimental"): "unstable" (or "sid"), "testing" and "stable". This progressive integration and stable nature of packaging, along with the project's well-established quality control mechanisms, has earned Debian a reputation as "one of the best-experienced and least buggy distributions."
Of course, this long and complicated development model also has some drawbacks: Debian's stable (stable version) is not currently up-to-date, this is because new stable versions are released every 1-3 years. These users prefer to use unstable Debian distributions or betas that include the latest technologies. Debian's highly democratic structure has led to controversial decisions and caused dogfights among developers. This resulted in having to abandon some results and make aggressive decisions to keep the project moving forward.
Homepage: http://www.debian.org/
Source: Global Global
Desktop: AfterStep, Blackbox, Fluxbox, GNOME, IceWM, KDE, LXDE, Openbox, WMaker, Xfce
Type: Desktop, Live Medium, Server
Processor Architecture: alpha , arm, armel, hppa, ia64, i386, m68k, mips, mipsel, powerpc, s390, sparc64, x86_64
What distribution is based on: Independent
Pros: very stable, excellent quality control, more than 20,000 software; more than any other Linux distributions support more processor architectures
Disadvantages: Conservative - because of its support for many processor architectures, the latest technologies are not always included; slow cycle (stable releases every 1-3 years), for developers Discussions on mailing lists and blogs are sometimes lagging behind.
Package Management: Advanced Package Management Tool (APT) and DEB Packages
Available Versions: Install CD/DVDs and live cd images for 11 processor architectures, including all 32-bit and 64-bit Intel, AMD, Power and other processors Recommended Debian based options: MEPIS Linux, Ubuntu, sidux
. Damn Small Linux (older computers), KNOPPIX (live CD), Dreamlinux (desktop), Elive (desktop with Enlightenment), Xandros (commercial), 64 Studio (multimedia )
5. Mandriva
Mandriva Linux was launched by Gaël Duval in July 1998 under Mandrake Linux. At first, it was just a re-optimized version of Red Hat Linux with a friendlier KDE desktop, but subsequent releases have added more friendly experiences such as a new installer, improved hardware detection, and intuitive disk partitioning utilities. As a result of these improvements, Mandrake Linux has thrived. After the introduction of venture capital investment into a commercial company, the newly established MandrakeSoft company's fortunes from early 2003 to 2005 fluctuated greatly and even nearly went bankrupt. Later, following the merger of Brazil's Conectiva, the company changed its name to Mandriva as we see it today.
Mandriva Linux is heavily weighted towards the desktop version. Its biggest features are advanced software, a first-class system management suite (DrakConf), excellent 64-bit version support, and extensive international support. It has an open development model than many other popular distributions, with intensive and frequent beta testing periods before stable releases. In recent years, a series of installable live CDs has also been developed, and Mandriva Mobile has been launched - a complete bootable USB stick version of the Mandriva Linux system. This is the first distro primarily to provide support for popular netbooks, such as ASUS' Eee PC.
Despite its technical excellence, the Mandriva Linux operating system has seen a lot of ups and downs in recent years. This is partly because other distributions have caught up with Mandriva in terms of ease of use and interface, but there are also some controversial decisions by the company to ignore basic users. The Mandriva site is cluttered across several different sites, and the original design of the "Mandriva Club," which offered value-added paying customers, received mixed reviews. While the company has addressed some of the criticism, it still faces an uphill battle to convince new Linux users, or Linux users of other distributions, to try (buy) its products.
Homepage: http://www.puppylinux.com/
Source: Australia Australia
Desktop: JWM
Type: Desktop, Old computers, Live Medium, Netbooks
Processor architecture: i386
Based on which distribution: Independent
Advantages: easy to get started, especially the commercial version , excellent unified configuration utility; very friendly "out of the box" support for dozens of languages; live CD installation
discs Few Mandriva books are distributed
Package management software: Rpmdrake URPMI (graphical front-end URPMI) uses RPM packages, "SMART" as an available alternative
Available versions: Free download of Mandriva "free" installation media for 32-bit (i586 systems) and 64 For 32-bit (x86_64) processors, the free downloadable Mandriva "One" 32-bit (i586) processor installation version, the commercial Mandriva package for 32-bit (i586) and 64-bit (x86_64) processors, also Provides solutions for high-end "corporate" desktops and servers, both with long support cycles
Suggested alternative based on Mandriva: PCLinuxOS (desktop)
6. Mint
Linux Mint, an Ubuntu-based distribution, was first created in 2006 by Clement Lefebvre, an IT specialist who was born in France and lives and works in Ireland. Originally envisaged to build a Linux website dedicated to providing help, documentation and other materials for new Linux users, Clement Lefebvre saw the development of Linux to solve the shortcomings of many mainstream products and more practical technologies and the potential to replace mainstream products. After soliciting feedback from his website's visitors, he set out to develop what is known today as "mproved Ubuntu" for Mint.
But Linux Mint isn't just a desktop theme with new app settings and Ubuntu updates. Since its inception, developers have added graphical tools called "mint", this includes mintDesktop - an environment for configuring the desktop, mintMenu - a new simpler and elegant menu navigation structure, and mintInstall - an easy-to-use software Install utility, mintUpdate - a software update about a few other extra tools and improvements to hundreds of several prominent tools. The project has also designed its own artwork, and its reputation for simplicity and ease of use has been further reinforced by the addition of some "large distributions that are potentially under legal threat to remove proprietary multimedia codecs." However, one of the best experience features of Linux Mint is that developers listen to their users and are always quick to implement good advice.
Although Linux Mint is free to download, the project's revenue comes from donations, advertising, and professional support services. It doesn't have a fixed schedule or list of features planned for releases, but new releases of Linux Mint can be expected within a few weeks of each stable release of Linux Ubuntu. In addition to the main version's GNOME desktop functionality, the project also builds a semi-regular "community" community edition, such as KDE's desktop, Xfce and Fluxbox editions. However, these tend to be months after a "major GNOME release" is done, and may sometimes not include the "minty" tool, as well as some other features found in the project's flagship product. Linux Mint does not adhere to the principles of free software and does not issue security bulletins.
Homepage: http://linuxmint.com/
Source: Ireland Ireland
Desktop: Fluxbox, GNOME, KDE, Xfce
Type: Beginners, Desktop, Live Medium
Processor Architecture: i386, x86_64
Based on which distribution: Debian, Ubuntu
Advantages: super powerful Collection of "
minty " tools, hundreds of enhancements for user-friendly experience, inclusion of numerous multimedia codecs, open user suggestions Security warning
Package management: APT uses DEB packages (compatible with Ubuntu repositories)
Available versions: a "main" (GNOME version) version for 32-bit and 64-bit computers, a "community" community version (using KDE, Xfce and Fluxbox for 32-bit computers)
possible options: Ubuntu, SimplyMEPIS
Seven, PCLinuxOS
PCLinuxOS was first announced in 2003 by Bill Reynolds, known as "Texstar". Prior to his self-created distribution, Texstar is a well-known developer known for creating the most popular RPM package manager in the Mandrake Linux user community and offering free downloads. In 2003, he decided to build a new distribution, initially based on Mandrake Linux, but containing some important usability improvements. What is his goal? It should be beginner friendly, with excellent support for proprietary kernel modules, browser plugins and media codecs, and a live CD with a simple and intuitive graphical installer.
After several years of development, PCLinuxOS is quickly approaching its intended state. In terms of usability, the project provides out-of-the-box technical support for the new operating system that most new Windows-to-Linux users expect. On the software side, PCLinuxOS is a KDE-oriented distribution that includes customized and always-up-to-date versions of the popular updated desktop environment. Its growing software library includes other desktop editions, of course, and offers a wide variety of desktop software packages for many common tasks. For system configuration, PCLinuxOS retains the excellent control center of the Mandriva edition, but has replaced its package management APT and Synaptic, a front-end package management system with a graphical interface.
On the negative side, PCLinuxOS lacks any kind of roadmap or release goals. Despite the growing community involvement in the project, most development releases and decisions tend to end up in the hands of Texstar and tend to be conservative. Ultimately, the PCLinuxOS development process tends to be a lengthy process of addressing all known vulnerabilities until a new version is announced. There are currently no plans for a 64-bit version of PCLinuxOS.
Homepage: http://www.pclinuxos.com /
Source: USA USA
Desktop: Enlightenment, Fluxbox, GNOME, IceWM, KDE, LXDE, Openbox, Xfce
Type: Beginners, Desktop, Live Medium
Processor Architecture: i586
based on which distribution : Mandriva
Pros: Excellent graphics drivers, browser plugins and media codec support; fast startup times, up to date software
Cons: No 64-bit version available, no out-of-the-box support for languages other than English; Lack of planned releases
Package management: Advanced Package Management Tool (APT) using RPM packages
Available versions: MiniMe, Junior and BigDaddy versions for 32-bit (i586 systems) processor architecture
Recommended PCLinuxOS based alternatives: SAM Linux Desktop, Granular Linux
Eight, Slackware
Slackware Linux operating system was founded in 1992 by Patrick Volkerding, is the oldest existing Linux distribution. Since the now discontinued SLS project, Slackware 1.0 started with 24 floppy disks and was based on Linux kernel version 0.99pl11-α. It quickly became the most popular Linux distribution, with some even estimating its market share of Linux installations as high as 80% in 1995. Its popularity has plummeted with the release of Red Hat Linux and other easier-to-use distributions, but Slackware Linux is still a much-appreciated and operating system more geared toward sysadmin tech and desktop users.
Slackware Linux is a highly technical, clean distribution with only a handful of very limited personal settings. It uses a simple, text-based system installation and a more primitive package management system without resolving software dependencies. As a result, Slackware is considered to be the purest and most unstable distribution available today - Slackware lacks a specific improvement to reduce the possibility of bugs entering new systems. All configuration is done by editing text files. There is a saying in the Linux community that if you learn Red Hat, you know Red Hat, but if you know Slackware, you know the Linux operating system. This is especially true today, when many other Linux distributions continue to develop heavily customized products to meet the needs of less technical Linux users.
While this simple philosophy has its proponents, the truth is that in today's world, where Slackware Linux is increasingly becoming a "core system", new custom solutions will be built instead of a broad Supported software variety series. The only exception is the server market, where Slackware is still popular, but even here, the lack of official support for automated tools that distribute complex upgrade procedures and security updates makes Slackware increasingly uncompetitive. Slackware's conservative approach to the fundamental components of the system means that it requires a lot of manual installation and tweaking to be a modern desktop system.
Homepage: http://www.slackware.com/
Source: USA USA
Desktop: Blackbox, Fluxbox, FVWM, KDE, WMaker, Xfce
Type: Desktop, Server
Processor Architecture: i486, x86_64
Based on which distribution: Independent
Advantages: High Stable, clean, bug-free, firmly adhered to the principles of UNIX
Cons: Limited number of officially supported applications, conservative selection of base packages; complicated upgrade process
Package management: "pkgtool" uses TXZ packages
Available versions: install CD/DVD 32-bit (i486) and 64-bit (x86_64) processors
Slackware's recommendation-based options: Zenwalk Linux (desktop), VectorLinux (desktop), SLAX (live CD), Slamd64 Linux (64 -bit), Bluewhite64 Linux (64-bit), Wolvix (desktop p, live CD), GoblinX (desktop, live CD)
Other distributions with similar philosophy: Arch Linux, Frugalware Linux
Nine, Gentoo
The concept of Gentoo Linux was proposed around 2000 by Daniel Robbins, a former developer of Stampede Linux and FreeBSD. When the author came into contact with FreeBSD and its "Autobuild" feature, the so-called "ports", this prompted him to incorporate some of the principles of FreeBSD's software management into his "portage" under Gentoo. The idea at the time was to develop a Linux distribution that would enable users to compile the source code of the Linux kernel and applications directly on their computer, thus maintaining a highly optimized and always up-to-date system. Version 1.0 of the project was announced in March 2002, and Gentoo's package management was considered a better choice for some binary package management systems, especially RPMs that were widely used at the time.
The Gentoo Linux operating system is designed for advanced users. Initially, the installation was cumbersome, cumbersome, and even took hours or even a day to compile and build a full Linux distribution with the command line, however, in 2006, a project was developed that simplifies the installation process of installing Gentoo's live CD as " One-click Install" program. Besides providing a single command to always get the latest installation package, some other important features of the distribution are excellent security, extensive configuration options, support for many architectures, and the ability to keep the system up to date without reinstallation. Gentoo's documentation has repeatedly been recognized as one of the best online.
The Gentoo Linux operating system has lost its original glory in recent years. Some Gentoo users have come to realize that the time-consuming compilation of a software package brings only marginal benefits in speed and optimization. Since Gentoo's founder and benevolent dictator resigned from the project in 2004, the newly formed Gentoo Foundation has been trying to avoid a clear development direction and frequent development conflicts, which has resulted in several high-profile celebrities leaving Gentoo . It remains to be seen whether Gentoo can recover the innovative qualities of the past, or whether it will slowly break down into a loose collection of projects lacking a clear definition of individual goals.
Homepage: http://www.gentoo.org/
Source: USA USA
Desktop: AfterStep, Blackbox, Fluxbox, GNOME, IceWM, KDE, LXDE, Openbox, WMaker, Xfce
Type: Desktop, Server, Source-based
Processor Architecture: i486, i586, i686, x86_64, alpha, arm, hppa, mips, powerpc, ppc64, sparc64
on which distribution: Independent
Pros: Excellent software management infrastructure, unparalleled customization and tuning options, first-class online documentation
Cons: Occasional Danger of instability and crashes, the project suffers from lack of direction and frequent infighting between developers
Package management: "Portage" used (SRC)
Available versions: Minimal installation CD and live CD (with GNOME) for Alpha, AMD64 , HPPA, IA64, MIPS, PPC, SPARC and x86 processors; also available with "stages" for manual installation from the command line
Recommended Gentoo-based options: SabayonLinux (desktop, live CD/DVD), Ututo (desktop, freeware)
Distributions from other sources: Lunar Linux, Source Mage GNU/Linux, Sorcerer, Linux From Scratch
10. CentOS
Launched at the end of 2003, CentOS is a community project that recompiles and installs Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) code and provides timely security updates for all packaged software upgrades. More directly, CentOS is just a RHEL clone. The only technical difference between the two distributions is the branding - CentOS replaces all Red Hat trademarks and logos with his own. But the link to RHEL and CentOS is not visible on CentOS's website, and because of trademark law, Red Hat is referred to as a "Prominent North American Enterprise Linux Vendor" instead of its proper name . However, the relationship between Red Hat and CentOS remains good, with many CentOS developers actively engaging with Red Hat engineers.
CentOS is often seen as a solid server distribution. It comes with a well-tested and stable Linux kernel and software, the same foundation as Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Although free for a community project volunteer earns a solid reputation for free choice of expensive server products on the market, especially for seasoned Linux sysadmins. CentOS is an enterprise-friendly desktop solution, especially in terms of stability, reliability, and long-term support, and is the first choice for the latest software and features. Like RHEL, CentOS is supported with 5+ years of security updates.
Despite its advantages, CentOS may not be the best solution for all deployment scenarios. Those willing to use the latest Linux technologies and the latest software packages should also look at other options. Major CentOS releases, which are based on RHEL releases, are released every 2-3 years, while "dot" releases (like 5.1) tend to be separated by 6-9 month intervals. This "dot" release usually doesn't contain any major features (although they sometimes include support for recent hardware), and only very few software get updated versions. The Linux kernel, base system, and most application versions remain the same, but occasionally an important piece of software (such as OpenOffice.org or Firefox) is updated to provide experimentation. As a side project, CentOS also builds user update packages for its distributions, but these libraries are not enabled by default because they might break compatibility.
Homepage: http://www.centos.org/
Source: USA
Desktop: GNOME, KDE
Type: Desktop, Live Medium, Server
Processor Architecture: i386, powerpc, s390, s390x, x86_64
Based on which distribution: Fedora, Red Hat
Pros: Very effective, stable and reliable; Free to download and use; Comes with 5 years of free security updates, timely releases and security updates
Cons: Lacks the latest Linux technology, most software is outdated by the time it's released
Package Management : YUM graphics and command line utilities using RPM packages
Available versions: live DVD and CD (GNOME) for i386 and x86_64 processors, older versions (3.x and 4.x) Alpha, IA64 and IBM-provided Z - series (s390, s390x) processors.
Other Red Hat and CentOS clone-based distributions: Scientific Linux, SME Server, StartCom Enterprise Linux, Fermi Linux, Rocks Cluster Distribution, Oracle Enterprise Linux
Eleven, FreeBSD
FreeBSD, a descendant of AT&T indirectly through Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) Berkeley software distribution UNIX, its long and turbulent history can be traced back to 1993. Unlike Linux distributions, which are defined as solutions that integrate the Linux kernel and thousands of applications, FreeBSD is a tightly integrated operating system based on the BSD kernel and so-called "userland" (thus, not even extra extensions). Distros are hugely missing the opportunity to install on common computer systems - like many Linux distributions, an easy-to-install (mostly) open source application extension provides the FreeBSD core, but these are usually provided by third-party donors and Not strictly part of FreeBSD.
FreeBSD was developed as a fast, high-performance and extremely stable operating system, especially suitable for web servers and similar tasks. Many large search engine websites, or organizations deploy and use on their mission-critical computing infrastructure, and have run FreeBSD on their computer systems for many years. Compared to the Linux operating system, FreeBSD is distributed under a more permissive license, which allows almost unlimited reuse and source code modification for any purpose. Even the well-known Apple's Mac OS X is derived from BSD. In addition to the core operating system, the project also provides more than 15,000 FreeBSD software in binary and source code form for convenient BSD core installations.
While it is certain that FreeBSD can be used as a desktop operating system, it is not as popular as a Linux distribution in this regard. The text-mode installer provides no system hardware detection or system configuration aspects, leaving the complicated work for the user to set up after installation. In terms of modern hardware support, FreeBSD generally lags behind the Linux operating system, especially when it comes to supporting gadgets such as laptops and netbooks, such as wireless network cards or popular digital cameras. Those users looking to existing desktop FreeBSD projects are looking to take advantage of FreeBSD's speed and stability on a desktop or workstation, not FreeBSD itself.
Homepage: http://www.freebsd.org/
Source: USA USA
Desktop: AfterStep, Blackbox, Fluxbox, IceWM, KDE, Openbox, WMaker, Xfce
Type: BSD
Processor Architecture: alpha, i386, ia64, sparc64, pc98, What distribution is powerpc, x86_64
based on: Independent
Pros: Fast, stable, serves over 15,000 software applications (or installations of "ports"); very good documentation
Cons: lags behind Linux in hardware support, limited commercial applications; lacks Graphical configuration tool
Package management: a full command line package management "ports" (TBZ)
Available versions: Installation CD Alpha, AMD64-bit, Ia64 files for i386, PC98 and SPARC64 processors
Recommended FreeBSD-based options: PC -BSD (desktop), DesktopBSD (desktop)), FreeSBIE (live CD)
Other BSD options: OpenBSD, NetBSD, DragonFly BSD, MidnightBSD