Linux Distributions Well-known through Unknown

Abstract

The Linux operating system, spoken of so much recently, is composed of the Linux kernel, licensed under the GNU General Public License, and a great deal of additional software, licensed under a variety of "free/open source" licenses. Because it is freely available and redistributable, there is no one vendor from which the operating system is purchased. Instead, any person, organization or company can choose to develop and maintain a Linux "distribution", a specific set of software packages, bundled with the Linux kernel. Some people are unaware of just how numerous and diverse Linux distributions are. Others fear that the availability of multiple varieties of Linux will fracture the Linux market and keep vendors from choosing to support it. In this talk, we'll examine the breadth and diversity of Linux distributions, through well-known ones such as Red Hat, Slackware, Debian, etc., to over a hundred lesser known ones. We'll look at the reasons numerous distributions have come into being and how to choose between them. Then we'll finish up with a look at the advantages and disadvantages that the diversity of Linux distributions brings and what the Linux community is doing to control the disadvantages while enjoying the advantages.

Speaker Bio

Elizabeth O. Coolbaugh is Managing Editor for the Linux Weekly News, an on-line magazine that has been reporting on the Linux Community since January, 1998, and one of the Managing Editors of the SANS Institute Monthly Security newsletters. She is also Vice President of Eklektix, Inc., a Colorado-based engineering firm which provides "Linux for Professionals" training courses, for which she is one of the instructors. Ms. Coolbaugh has worked in computer systems administrations since 1981, with Unix since 1985 and with Linux since 1997.