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Fedora Project - As of this writing, (Spring, 2008) the current version is "Fedora 9".
"Fedora" is the community-based distro put out by Red Hat, which is the "Microsoft" of the Linux world (but not so evil!). Fedora is what's known as an "RPM" based distro given that it uses the "Red Hat Package Management System". Historically Fedora defaulted to the "Gnome" desktop but with Fedora 9 they have issued a "KDE" desktop version.

Not the easiest distro for a newbie, but not the hardest either. Package Management and updates are done using the "yum" package management tool. Many corporate servers run on Fedora instead of the "paid" Red Hat Enterprise Linux. It's simply that reliable!

Fedora Core 9 comes on a single DVD disk in the Gnome version, and a single CD in the KDE versions. Both 32 and 64 bit versions are available.

Mandriva- Formerly known as "Mandrake".   Mandriva is based in France but merged some years ago with the Brazil-based "Connectiva" and the small U.S. distro "Lycoris".   I'm currently running "Mandriva 2007" on my PIII 800 MHz. IBM Thinkpad.

Mandriva 2008 was released in the autumn of 2007.   There are two different "free as in free beer" versions.
"Mandriva Linux One 2008" also includes proprietary codecs and some proprietary software. "Mandriva Free 2008" contains only "free as in freedom" software.

Being a business, Mandriva also sells their "Mandriva Power Pack" version for 49 Euros which includes software like "Cedega" (which allows you to play Windows games on Linux), server tools etc.    They also sell a version that fits onto a USB key drive.

Mandriva defaults to the KDE desktop, although you can use Gnome if you want to. Mandriva 2008 comes on a single DVD disk or you can download it on CD's.

Package Management is best done using the "urpmi" tool or you can use the graphical "RPMDrake" tools

Ubuntu/Kubuntu - According to "distrowatch.com" which tracks Linux distros, the South African-based "Ubuntu" is one of the most popular desktop Linux distros in the world today. Ubuntu is a completely free Linux distro put out by a company called Canonical founded by dot com multi-millionaire (and space tourist) Mark Shuttleworth. It's a fairly easy distro for a newbie, but does have some features that a more advanced user would like to have.

Ubuntu currently has two "streams" of distros; the "LTS" or "long term support" versions where Canonical guarantees a minimum of three years of updates and the more "bleeding edge" versions with the latest and greatest software packages included.

The last "LTS" version was 6.06 codenamed "Dapper Drake" and was released in 2006.    The next "LTS" version 8.08 codenamed "Hardy Heron" should be out early in 2008.

The latest "bleeding edge" distro (version 7.10 codenamed "Gutsy Gibbon") was released in the autumn of 2007.

If your main concern is stability and long term bugfixes and security support, then choose the "LTS" version. If your main concern is having the latest and the greatest software and you don't mind doing frequent distro upgrades then you'd want to choose the "bleeding edge" version.

Ubuntu comes on a single CD.   You can run it as a "live CD" and then if you decide you like it you can install it to your hard drive.   If you don't have a high-speed internet connection to download the CD, you can order a CD free of charge from Ubuntu's website.   Ubuntu will mail disks free of charge to anywhere in the world.

Ubuntu/Kubuntu is "Debian-based" and package management is done with the "Adept" package manager or the older Debian-based tool "Synaptic" or the command line tool "apt-get".

Ubuntu uses the "Gnome" desktop, while its sister project "Kubuntu" uses the KDE desktop.

There's also a version called "Edubuntu" especially designed for classroom use mostly using the "Linux Terminal Server Project".

If your machine is a bit older and perhaps doesn't have alot of RAM you might want to try "Xubuntu" which uses the light-weight "Xfce" desktop instead of Gnome or KDE.

If your machine has very little RAM (128 MB or less) you might want to use the Xubuntu "alternate install" CD. Just to be on the safe side, I used the alternate install CD to put Xubuntu on a 450 MHz. Pentium II that had 192 MB of RAM. The installation worked quite well!

Whether you choose to use Ubuntu (Gnome), Kubuntu (KDE) or Xubuntu (Xfce) you have full access to the Ubuntu software repositories to install any additional software that wasn't included in your install CD.

Fluxbuntu isn't an official Ubuntu project (yet anyway) but it uses the extremely lightweight "Fluxbox" desktop environment. It's a good choice for breathing life into very old machines or if you have a fairly current machine and you want it to run quickly and don't really care all that much about having a fancy graphical desktop.

Another Ubuntu related project of interest is the Linux Media Centre Edition. Linux MCE is an add-on for the Kubuntu distro designed to help you build your own home entertainment centre. It's currently available as an add-on for Kubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn) with support for Version 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) expected to be out by the end of November, 2007.

Suse - Originated in Germany but has since been bought out by Novell Networks.   As of this writing the current version is 10.3 released in the fall of 2007.    Suse is a commercial version of Linux with a "community" version called "Open Suse".   The commercial version is called "Suse Linux Enterprise Desktop" or "SLED".   It's marketed as a business desktop operating system.    Novell also sells server versions of Suse.   Open Suse is relatively easy for a newbie and like Fedora Core and Mandriva is an "RPM-based" distro.

Open Suse uses the "Yast" package management tool.   You can download the full DVD version of the distro which contains all of the language packs and software both free and proprietary.     Or you can download the CD versions, one of which is a "KDE" version and the other is a "Gnome" version.   The CD's are only available in English and if you want/need the proprietary codecs/plugins you can download an "add-on" CD.

Novell has recently signed a very controversial "deal" with Microsoft over marketing, development and patent protection. Given that Microsoft tends to "eat" anyone it partners with, I've got to say that I'm quite skeptical of Novell Suse's future.   But hey that's just my opinion!

Mepis -   Comes out of Morgantown, West Virginia and is the "pet project" of its developer Warren Woodford. Mepis is free and comes on a "Live CD".   Mepis pioneered the idea of allowing you to install the operating system to your hard drive by clicking on an icon from a Live CD. Now all kinds of distros do this.   It's a fairly easy distro for a newbie and is Debian-based.   The current version is "Simply Mepis 6.5" with version 7.0 to be released by the end of 2007.

Like all Debian-based distros it uses the Debian package management tools "Synaptic" and "apt-get". Mepis, includes certain "proprietary" plugins and codecs "out of the box" such as support for mp3 files.   Many Linux distros shy away from doing this for ethical/legal reasons, requiring you to install these packages on your own after you've installed the O/S.

Mepis uses the KDE desktop environment.   Prior to Version 6.0, Mepis was based on Debian. With 6.5 it switched to being based on Ubuntu.   However in Version 7.0 they will be switching back to being based on Debian.

In October, 2007 a slimmed down version of Mepis called "AntiX" was released. It defaults to the "Fluxbox" desktop but you can also use the "IceWm" desktop if you'd like. It's designed to run on older machines but won't run on older AMD K5 and K6 processors.

Xandros - Xandros used to be the Corel Corporation's Linux project and therefore has "Canadian roots".    At present its corporate headquarters are in New York, but its development team is in Ottawa.

Corel arguably had the easiest desktop Linux distro for "newbies", and Xandros has continued down this path.   As of this writing Xandros has recently released Version 4 of its Linux operating system.   Xandros is "target marketed" at Windows users who'd like to make the switch to Linux.

Xandros is a distro that I ran on one of my desktop computers for quite awhile!   A somewhat modified version of Xandros is installed on the revolutionary new "Asus EeePC" ultra mobile personal computer.

Xandros isn't free as in free beer. There used to be a free "Open Circulation Edition" that came without some of the proprietary features but it has officially been pulled. If you really want it though you can hunt around on bittorrent.

Installation of Xandros is very easy. Just boot from CD and about six mouse clicks and 30 minutes later you're done!

Xandros uses its own proprietary desktop, which is basically a slightly "souped-up" version of KDE. Some versions of Xandros include things like "Crossover Office" from Codeweavers which allows you to run many Windows programmes on a Linux computer.    The "Desktop Professional" version will authenticate against Windows "Active Directories", easily connects to GSM phones, VPN's etc.

When I was using Xandros 3.0 I found that it was one of the easiest Linux distros around when it comes to networking to Windows computers and even to shared printers that are attached to Windows machines.

Installing software is very easy using the Xandros Networks software installation tool.   However the selection of open source software available in the regular Xandros Networks repository is a bit limited and sometimes not all that up-to-date.

You can however install software from the "unstable" Debian repositories if you'd like using either Xandros Networks or the Debian command line tool "apt-get".   Be warned though if you go a little too "crazy" installing stuff from outside Xandros Networks you can "break" your system.   I learned the hard way!

While I find much to like about Xandros, in June, 2007 Xandros did something I really don't like. Following in Novell's footsteps they've done a "deal with the devil"...the devil being Microsoft.   Will Xandros be eaten for lunch? Time will tell.

Linspire - Linspire, formerly known as "Lindows" is a slick commercial desktop version of Linux designed as a Windows replacement. It's currently on Version 6.0. Linspire isn't free (but compared to Windows its cheap at about $50). Like most Linux distros these days, you can use the Linspire CD as both a "live CD" and as an install CD.

Withh version 6.0, Linspire switched from being based on "Debian" to be being based on "Ubuntu". Installation is very simple for a newbie.

Software installations are done using Linspire's "Click n' Run" (CNR) system. It not only allows you to install free and open source software, but also allows you to purchase, download and install proprietary software. Later in 2007, Linspire plans to make this system available for a number of other Linux distros including Ubuntu, Fedora Core, Debian and Suse.

Linspire includes proprietary codecs, plugins, drivers and that sort of thing, so unlike many other Linux distros they all work "out of the box". They are able to do this because of licensing deals with Microsoft and others. Linspire defaults to a somewhat modified version of the KDE desktop.

After spending many years tweaking Microsoft's nose, Linspire has also joined commerical Linux vendors Novell and Xandros in doing their own "deal with the devil".

In August, 2006 Linspire released a "free" version of Linspire called "Freespire". Freespire has most of the "proprietary" content removed but does make use of Linspire's "Click 'n Run" (CNR) software installation tool. Version 2.0.3 (the latest) was released in October, 2007.

Debian - Debian GNU/Linux is one of the Linux distros that would fall into the category of what I'd call "true geekware". But the Debian developers adhere very strictly to the "GNU" free software principles.    And even though Debian might be a little "geeky", it's the least geeky of the geeky distros!    As well, Debian is a true world-wide "community project".

Debian is so good in fact its the basis for alot of the "easier" Linux distros like Xandros, Linspire, Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Mepis along with "Live CD" versions like Knoppix.

Since Debian Sarge 3.1, its become alot easier to install.   Debian uses either Synaptic, the "GUI way" to install software or the tried and true command line way with "apt-get".

Version 4.0 of Debian ("etch") was released in the spring of 2007 and is the latest version.

Of interest to ham radio operators, is that there has always been good support for ham radio software in the Debian software repositories.   Of course those software repositories are also available for users of other "Debian-based" distros!

"Out of the box", Debian doesn't always have the newest software. That's because the Debian developers focus on keeping the distribution "stable".   If you want to add newer software applications it's fairly easy to do.

Slackware - Slackware is one of the oldest Linux distributions around. Its currently on Version 12. It's what I'd consider a "geeky" distro. It's a community project and therefore is completely free and non-commercial. Like Debian, it forms the basis for many other Linux distributions.

However, it is quite difficult for a new user to install and configure. In fact I've never managed to get it up and running properly. However, if you're interested in learning all about how to use the Linux command line and have a great deal of patience, its a distro worth trying.

Gentoo - Gentoo is Debian-based and released their 2007 version in the spring.   It's totally free and non-commercial. Gentoo is definitely "geekware" and not for the faint of heart!   It's a distro I've decided to avoid for now!

However, Gentoo gives you complete control over your system.   You can customize your installation to optimize it for all the hardware that you're running on your machine. It uses a package management system called "portege". There's also now an installable "live CD" available.

So if you are a real geek who likes to tweak, you might like Gentoo!

Linux Mint - This distro is also based on "Ubuntu" but includes all of the proprietary "plug-ins" and codecs "out of the box" with no need to install them after you've installed Linux Mint on your system.   It has started to become quite popular in the last couple of years.

Linux Mint comes on an installable "live CD" with editions using either the Gnome, KDE or Xfce desktops.   There are also "light" editions that contain only free software for areas of the world (like the U.S.) where installing proprietary codecs/plugins is legally questionable.

The latest Gnome version is 3.1 (codenamed "Celena") released in September, 2007 while the latest KDE and Xfce version is 3.0 (codenamed "Cassandra") released in August, 2007.   These editions are based on Ubuntu 7.04 "Feisty Fawn".

The 4.0 versions (codenamed "Daryna") are in the works and will be based on Ubuntu 7.10 "Gutsy Gibbon".

One of the things you'll notice about Linux Mint is that compared to other Linux distros it boots and gets you up and running very quickly!    Installation is very easy involving only about half a dozen mouse clicks from the live CD.

Linux Mint has its own easy installation routine called "Mint Install" for many popular additional software packages.    Whatever can't be installed with "Mint Install" can be installed using the graphical "Synaptic" package manager or "apt-get" on the command line.

I've been "playing" with this distro quite a bit lately, I've used it at a senior's centre in my neighbourhood and I'm running the "XFCE" version on an old AMD Pro 1200 box.

The only "glitch" I've found as such is occasionally with shared network folders and with shared network printers.    Other then that, it's a great distro!

Dream Linux - This distro comes from Brazil and has a multi-media focus. The latest version as of this writing is "2.2". It uses a somewhat modified version of the lightweight "Xfce" desktop and so the user interface is quite similar to what you'd find on a Mac. Dream Linux is based on the "Morphix" distro (which in turn is based on Debian!)

It's a good little distro for what it does.   Mind you I had some problems on occasion with broken software repositories sometimes when trying to update or install new software.   Because it uses the "xfce" desktop it does run a little bit faster on older machines than distros that use the KDE or Gnome desktop.   It certainly is an up and coming distro!

Knoppix -   Knoppix is a "Live CD" Linux distro in that it runs completely off of a DVD disk. It used to run off a CD disk, but the software collection is now so large that you need a DVD disk for all of it.

Knoppix is based on Debian and is currently on version 4.0.   Its absolutely loaded with software and makes for a great "emergency" disk for those times when your system is toast and you've got to get your machine up and running to do some work. It uses the KDE GUI.

Knoppix' hardware detection is absolutely amazing!   It can find just about any hardware at all...even obscure proprietary notebook hardware.

In fact if you've got a misbehaving piece of hardware and are not sure whether its a hardware or software problem, just boot it up with a Knoppix disk.   If Knoppix finds the hardware and it works then you know you've got a software problem.    If it won't work with Knoppix, then its likely you have a hardware problem.

Or, if you've just slapped a bunch of components together to build a new machine, try booting it up first with a Knoppix disk before you install an operating system on the hard drive.   This can save you a whole lot of wasted time and energy.   There's nothing worse than wasting an hour or more installing an operating system only to find there's some kind of minor hardware problem.

Law enforcement agencies use Knoppix to so they can access computer hard drives without altering the content on them.

Damn Small Linux - Damn Small Linux is well...small! It's only 50 MB and is designed to fit on a small "credit card" sized CD or on a USB thumb drive. It uses the same hardware detection as Knoppix and so will find just about anything.

It uses the lightweight "Fluxbox" graphical user interface and so will run quite nicely on older hardware.

Slax - Slax is a "live CD" distro based on Slackware. It boots into either the lightweight "Fluxbox" or "KDE" GUI.   One nice thing about Slax, is that you can write to your hard drive using Slax.

Now most of the time when you're booting with a "live CD" you don't want to alter the contents of your hard drive.   But if you do, Slax is the live CD for you.   I once trashed an operating system and had all kinds of files that I wanted to move to other machines on the home network before doing an operating system re-install.   Slax allowed me to do this!

Another nice thing about Slax is that it' can find your network printer without you having to do any configuration at all.   Or at least that was my experience!

Dynebolic - Dynebolic is a "live CD" distro designed for multi-media. It's designed to take advantage of "older" computer hardware such as "first generation" Pentium chips and AMD "K5" processors. The authors claim it only needs 64 MB of RAM.

Puppy Linux - A "mini distro" out of Australia that's so small that you can easily run it off of a USB "thumb drive".

There are also quite a number of "derivative" Puppy distros that have been developed for a wide variety of specialized purposes. You can find out about them here.

MCN Live is a "live CD" that can also be run from a USB thumb drive. It originates in the Netherlands and is based on Mandriva Linux. The latest versions are "Delft" (which contains no business applications...just fun stuff...and "Toronto" which comes with some business applications.

Vector Linux - is a Canadian-based Linux distro based on Slackware.   It's very "lightweight"and therefore suitable for somewhat "older" computers and uses the "XFCE" desktop instead of the "heavier" KDE or Gnome.    There are both "Live CD" versions and versions that you can install on your machine.   As of this writing it's currently on version 5.8 released in December, 2006.

There's also a "5.8 SOHO" edition that uses the KDE desktop released in May, 2007.   I've tested this version on a K6II 400 MHz. machine with 384 MB RAM and it runs alot quicker than one would expect on a machine of this vintage.

Package management is done with "gslapt",   however the amount of "extra" software in the Vector Linux software repositories is not quite as extensive as it is for many other Linux distros.

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SPECIALIZED HAM RADIO DISTROS

Harv's Hamshack Hack - Is a special "live CD" version of Knoppix put together for ham radio operators by Harvey Nelson, AI9NL. It contains programmes for the "normal" user along with most of the Linux software currently available for ham radio operators.

AFU-Knoppix - Another specialized "live CD" version of Knoppix for amateur radio usage originally from Germany. When you get to the site just click on the flag in the top right corner to switch to English.

Digipup - A specialized version of "Puppy Linux" by David Freese, W1HKJ for amateur radio usage.

Debian Dxpedition Disk - This is a special "live CD" version of the Debian-based Linux distro "Morphix". It was put together by Rein Couperus, PA0R in the Netherlands and was designed for networked computer logging on ham radio dxpeditions. You just put the CD disk into the computer's CD-ROM drive, boot up and you can easily network all of the computers making use of the Linux-based logging programme "TLF".