Linux
From EduTechWiki - Reading time: 3 min
Definition[edit | edit source]
“Linux (IPA pronunciation: /\u02c8l\u026an\u028aks/) is a Unix-like computer operating system family. Linux is one of the most prominent examples of free software and of open source development; its underlying source code is available for anyone to use, modify, and redistribute freely” ([1], retrieved 17:06, 2 April 2007 (MEST))
Educational Distributions[edit | edit source]
The following Linux distributions are specifically tailored with educational use in mind. For distributions which do not [yet] have their own entries in this Edutech wiki a link to either the distribution's own wiki/homepage or Wikipedia has been used.
- UberStudent Linux, styled as "Linux for learners", is a Linux distribution tailored for university-level students and life-long learners.
- Edubuntu Linux is a distribution designed for a teacher to be able to setup a complete elementary-level classroom quickly and easily.
- Sugar-on-a-Stick is a Linux distribution for the children of the world, designed to reside on a portable USB stick. Originally created for the One-Laptop-Per-Child project, the Sugar learning platform is written using the open-source Python programming language; the Pippy code editor for Python is a default application in Sugar.
Other Distributions[edit | edit source]
The following list is copy/paste from the Linux distribution article on Wikipedia (15:45, 3 September 2012 (CEST)), with links pointing to Wikipedia articles
Well-known Linux distributions include:
- Arch_Linux, a minimalist rolling release distribution targeted at experienced Linux users, maintained by a volunteer community and primarily based on binary packages in the tar.gz and tar.xz format.
- Debian, a non-commercial distribution maintained by a volunteer developer community with a strong commitment to free software principles
- Knoppix, the first Live CD distribution to run completely from removable media without installation to a hard disk, derived from Debian
- Mint Debian Edition (LMDE) is based directly on testing distribution.
- Ubuntu, a popular desktop and server distribution derived from Debian, maintained by British company Ltd.
- Backtrack, based on the system) Ubuntu operating system. Used for digital forensics and penetration testing.
- Kubuntu, the KDE version of Ubuntu.
- Mint, a distribution based on and compatible with Ubuntu. Currently using Gnome 3 shell, "Cinnamon", or optionally Gnome 2 fork, MATE.
- Xubuntu is the Xfce version of Ubuntu.
- Lubuntu, the LXDE version of Ubuntu, is advertised as a lightweight distribution.
- Fedora, a community distribution sponsored by American company Red Hat
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux, which is a derivative of Fedora, maintained and commercially supported by Red Hat.
- CentOS, a distribution derived from the same sources used by Hat, maintained by a dedicated volunteer community of developers with both 100% Red Hat-compatible versions and an upgraded version that is not always 100% upstream compatible
- Oracle Enterprise Linux, which is a derivative of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, maintained and commercially supported by Oracle.
- Mandriva, a Red Hat derivative popular in several European countries and Brazil, today maintained by the French company of the same name.
- PCLinuxOS, a derivative of Mandriva, grew from a group of packages into a community-spawned desktop distribution.
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux, which is a derivative of Fedora, maintained and commercially supported by Red Hat.
- Gentoo, a distribution targeted at power users, known for its FreeBSD Ports-like automated system for compiling applications from source code
- openSUSE a community distribution mainly sponsored by American company Novell.
- Linux distributions SUSE_Linux_Enterprise, derived from openSUSE, maintained and commercially supported by Novell.
- Slackware, one of the first Linux distributions, founded in 1993, and since then actively maintained by J. Volkerding|Patrick J. Volkerdin.
- Damn Small Linux, "DSL" is a Biz-card Desktop OS
DistroWatch attempts to include every known distribution of Linux, whether currently active or not; it also maintains a ranking of distributions based on page views, as a measure of relative popularity.
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