Time
again for our Website of the Week, when we showcase interesting and innovative
online destinations. Our web guide is VOA's Art Chimes.
This
time, it's a guide to the wide range of software packages known as Linux
distributions — the free alternatives to Microsoft Windows or Apple's Mac OS
that also include a vast array of professional-quality application programs for
your desktop computer.
"DistroWatch
is a website, it's a portal, it's a news and reference site about Linux
distributions," says Ladislav Bodnar, the founder of DistroWatch.com,
which is perhaps the Web's most complete survey of the different flavors of
Linux available out there.
Linux
distributions are built on the same reliable core but each one adds different
bells and whistles. Some distros (as
they're known) are for general home, school, or business use. Others
specialize: there are editions for Linux novices and computer security experts;
Christians and Muslims; language versions in Vietnamese and Bulgarian and
Farsi, among others; even minimalist versions for old and slow computers. But
most users will be interested in the mainstream offerings on the Major
Distributions page.
"This
lists the 10 most popular Linux distributions with screen shots and little
descriptions that tell you what it is and what it's best for," says
Bodnar. "That can help somebody new to Linux decide how to choose their
distribution."
And
one of the great things about Linux is that many distributions come in the form
of a live CD, which boots up on your computer without affecting anything on
your hard drive, so you can do a no-risk test.
Ladislav
Bodnar says DistroWatch gets more than 100,000 visitors a day. Others keep up
with the Linux world by subscribing to the various RSS news feeds or by
listening to the site's podcast.
Hello
and welcome to this week's episode of the DistroWatch weekly podcast. In this
week's episode, the Linux package management cheat sheet, part two, new warnings over the e1000e network module....
News
and information about the vast array of Linux distributions at DistroWatch.com,
or get the link to this and more than 200 other
Websites of the Week from our site, voanews.com.
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