Different Linux Distros

Now that you know what makes a Linux distribution, you may be wondering where to start looking. For those looking to branch out, there are hundreds of distros out there, and it can be pretty overwhelming. Choosing between hundreds is a hard task to do. But here, I will provide you a short article which will make you clear the basics and let you choose between.

NOTE : There are only few main Distros. Other Distros are simply made taking any one distribution as a base.

Ubuntu : 

If you have tried Linux before, you might be aware about Ubuntu. But if not, here is a small guide on it. The original aim of Ubuntu was to make Linux easier for the average user, and it did a pretty good job - it's a great beginner's distribution. It's fairly simple to use, updates every six months, and now contains its own Unity interface, which is specific to Ubuntu, featuring things like a dock instead of a taskbar, an App Store-like interface for its package manager, a dashboard for easy searching of the OS, and more. Ubuntu comes with a pretty standard set of apps, including Firefox, Thunderbird, Empathy for instant messaging, Transmission for downloading torrents, and more. It has a ton of programs available in the repositories, or online as packaged DEB files for one-click installations. Rarely will you have to build a program from source (compile to form setup using code available).

Linux Mint :

Linux Mint is actually based off Ubuntu, but I thought to include it here because it has become even more popular with Ubuntu's shift toward the unpopular Unity interface. Mint aims to be as easy as possible for users unfamiliar with Linux: the installation is pain-free, the menus are familiar and easy to use, and unlike other distros, it doesn't commit itself to providing only free and open source software, i.e. it comes with things like Adobe Flash, MP3 support, and some proprietary hardware drivers preinstalled. In other distros, you usually have to download these separately. It uses the same package management system as Ubuntu, so all the programs available for Ubuntu also runs on Mint. If you are new to Linux, I highly recommend you to use Mint.

Fedora :

Fedora aims to be a bit more on the cutting edge of all its software. Updates come out every six months, just like Ubuntu and Mint, but they aren't supported for very long. It's expected that users update regularly and as soon as possible. Programs like Firefox will be updated as soon as Mozilla releases an update, unlike Ubuntu, which will usually wait to make Ubuntu-specific changes to the code and release things later on. This can result in a bit more instability, but is great for those that always want the latest and greatest software on their system. It also updated to the GNOME 3 Shell very quickly, and is the most popular Linux distribution currently using it. Fedora uses the somewhat slower but easier to use Yum package manager, instead of Ubuntu and Mint's APT. It doesn't have all the softwares available that the others do, but you can still find most of what you need in the repositories or online in a single-click installer. Fedora also has great security and enterprise features, if you're looking to use Linux in a more professional environment.

Redhat/CentOS :

RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux) is the non-free Enterprise version offering of Fedora distribution. It comes with full telephone based support and is backed by rigorous testing. CentOS is the free version which is derived from RHEL but usually trails behind it and of course does not come with enterprise support.

Debian :

Debian, in many ways, is the opposite of Fedora. Its goal is to be as stable and bug-free as possible, which it does very well. It means that your system is rarely up-to-date with the latest versions of software. New releases come out every 1 to 3 years. However, if you're looking for something as stable as a rock, and don't care about always having the latest version of a piece of software, Debian is for you. Debian also uses the same package management structure as Ubutnu and Mint, so it has more programs available than you can shake a stick at - both in the repositories and online as DEB files. It also supports many processor architectures, which is great if you have a particularly old build.

OpenSUSE :

OpenSUSE is a general-purpose Linux distribution that has a very helpful community. Its main draw over other distributions is its level of configuration. KDE is the default desktop (which in my experience is one of the most easily configurable), though it lets you choose between KDE, GNOME, LXDE and XFCE during the installation, which is pretty cool. It also has a very nicely done system administration utility and package manager, known as YaST, as well as great documentation and (as previously stated) a good community behind it. OpenSUSE is a good distro to try, since it gives you a lot of configuration options without the need to go into the command line.

 Arch Linux :

Arch Linux is special. Arch doesn't have many of its own characteristics, since when you install it you're installing it from scratch. All you have when you install it is a command line, from which you build up your desktop environment, drivers, preferred applications, and more. Essentially, you're creating your own super customized distro. It can be as minimal or heavy as you want, and while it takes a lot of work, the end result is fantastic (plus you'll learn a ton about how Linux works in the process). Arch uses the incredibly easy and powerful Pacman package manager, and there are no "official" releases - you're always installing the latest version of whatever packages are included. Arch also contains the Arch User Repository (AUR). It essentially allows the community to create easily installable versions of any program, so even if it isn't in the official Arch repos, you can use an AUR helper to install all those programs as if they were normal packages in the repositories.