dJtl Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 at my school there is Linux on almost all the computers and they are Fedora. Are there multiple versions of Linux and if there are which is better? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trq Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 What most people refer to as Linux as an operating system is distributed in many different flavours. Take a look at http://distrowatch.com to get an idea of just how many there are. Linux itself is actually just the kernel. The kernel is a particular part of the operating system that communicates directly with the hardware amongst other things. But a distribution is actually made up of many many small projects and programs that all work together to form an operating system. The more proper term for what is commonly called Linux should be GNU/Linux. Because to have a working operating system you need the Linux kernel and a bunch (around 60) smaller applications that are part of the GNU project. Anyway, to answer your question.... 'which is better', is very subjective. It really depends on what you want to do, how much effort you want to make to learn the system and what methods you prefer to use. My favourite system is Gentoo. Though it is far from a beginners Linux, it will teach you allot about how things work together. Debian however is quickly becoming my most preferred because of its simplicity (compared to Gentoo). For a more traditional Linux slackware is another popular one. Hell, You can even build your own distro from scratch if your real keen using the LFS book. Most new comers find distros like fedora, ubuntu and suse a more comfortable transition from windows. Not to say they aren't powerful, they just come pre-configured with what most people would commonly require. All a distro does is package a default system using what they consider there audience will use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atl_andy Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 If you want to mess around with Linux, choose Fedora Core 7 to start. I've messed with most of them, Suse, Fedora, Debian, and built a Linux from Scratch system (not recommended as a first Linux system - unless you have a need and know what you are doing). FC7 is the easiest to install and will be a good transition from Windoze, imho. At least try one and see which one you like....everyone seems to have their preference for one reason or another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beebum Posted December 7, 2007 Share Posted December 7, 2007 I'm an OpenBSD man myself but there isn't an OpenBSD forum here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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