In reality, there is no single distribution that is good for everybody, but it’s safe to say that everybody has their favorite. Linux distro authors typically change the GUI, add their own mix of applications that best suit the intended use, and focus on a specific set of features to best fit whatever niche they are working to satisfy. What makes distros distinct is that each one is fine-tuned for a specific purpose. What is the best Linux distro for near-realtime?Īll of these are good questions and indeed, when it comes to reasons for choosing one distro over another, God is in the detail.What is the best Linux distro for Enterprises?.What is the best Linux distro for programming?.What is the best Linux distro for gaming?.What is the best Linux distro for 2021?.What makes a distro worthwhile is often the target market. Common to all, or at least the majority, is a Linux kernel, a windowing system, a desktop environment, and myriad software applications to tackle a variety of tasks. Given the plethora of distros, it is worthwhile to start with what makes them the same. Some distros need to be installed on the computer, whereas other “live” distros can boot from a USB drive or other removable media. Similarly, Debian is an oft-discussed Linux distro, and it is entirely community-driven. People familiar with IT news have probably heard of popular distros such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and Ubuntu, which are commercially backed. To date, there have been several hundred distros, and many are still being actively developed. Because it was not well maintained, it was superseded by the Slackware distro, which was started in 1993 at the same time as the still popular Debian distro.

Given that the process was somewhat complex, different distributions were created to make it easier, and these were the early beginnings of the Linux distro universe.Īmong the earliest distros was the Softlanding Linux System (SLS), which was released in 1992. Shortly thereafter, it was distributed as a pair of floppy disk images that included both a bootable version and a set of tools used to set up and configure the file system. When it was initially released, the source code was distributed for users to compile on their own. As of 2021, the Linux operating system is 30 years old and has come a long way since its inception as a personal project by developer Linus Torvalds. Before diving into the best Linux distros, let’s review some history.

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