Simple Linux

An often daunting prospect to new Linux users is understanding what a 'distribution' is, and how they all differ. Read on for a (hopefully) clear and simple explanation, along with helpful advice for picking a distribution.

So, what is a Linux distribution? Put simply, a distribution is made up of two components: the basic Linux operating system, which all distributions share, and all the software that comes with the basic installation.

NB: As 'distribution' is quite a long word, and people are generally quite lazy, you will often find 'distribution' shortened to 'distro'. They mean the same thing, one is just shorter and easier to type!

Each distribution looks slightly different, has a different set of default software (such as office applications, music players, etc.) and differ slightly in how you change settings.

The most major piece of included software that makes a distribution stand out from others is the window manager. The window manager determines the basics of how the distribution looks and feels, and is therefore something you encounter every day. I'll discuss window managers in a later article, so for now, take a look at screenshots of each distribution and see what you like the look of.