DistroWatch

Last updated
DistroWatch
DistroWatch Logo.png
Distrowatch.png
Type of site
News website
Available inEnglish [notes 1]
OwnerLadislav Bodnar
Revenue Advertisement
URL distrowatch.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationNo
Launched31 May 2001 (2001-05-31)

DistroWatch is a website which provides news, distribution pages hit rankings, and other general information about various Linux distributions as well as other free software/open source Unix-like operating systems. It now contains information on several hundred distributions [1] and a few hundred distributions labeled as active. [2]

Contents

History

The website was launched on 31 May 2001 and is maintained by Ladislav Bodnar. [3]

Initially, Bodnar also wrote the Distrowatch Weekly (DWW). In November 2008, Bodnar decided to step down from the post of editor for DWW. Bodnar said he would still continue to maintain the site [4] while the DWW would be written by Chris Smart. [5]

As of 2017, DistroWatch has donated a total of US$47,739 to various open source software projects since the launch of the Donations Program in March 2004. [6]

Features

The site maintains extensive comparison charts detailing differences between the package sets and software revisions of different distributions. It also provides some general characteristics of distributions such as the price and the supported processor architectures. [notes 2] There is also a Distrowatch weekly (often abbreviated DWW) that comes out every Monday "as a publication summarising the happenings in the distribution world on a weekly basis". [4]

Distrowatch has a monthly donations program, a joint initiative between DistroWatch and two online shops selling low-cost CDs and DVDs with Linux, BSD and other open source software.

The database consists of hundreds of different open source distributions, mainly Linux but also BSD and Solaris. It also has a small number categorized as "Other OS", namely ReactOS, Haiku, KolibriOS, RISC OS and Minix. [7]

Page rankings

Distrowatch itself affirms that its page rankings are "a light-hearted way of measuring the popularity of Linux distributions and other free operating systems among the visitors of this website. They correlate neither to usage nor to quality, and should not be used to measure the market share of distributions. They simply show the number of times a distribution page on DistroWatch.com was accessed each day, nothing more." [8] [9] [10] [11]

PC World has written that "the page-hit counts on DistroWatch give some indication of which distributions are drawing the most interest at the moment, of course, but such measures can't be assumed to gauge who's actually using what or which are preferred overall". [12]

Notes

  1. ↑ Site contents are in English while some user interface elements are also available in Arabic, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Japanese, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Tamil, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese.
  2. ↑ e.g. see the Red Hat Enterprise Linux page on the web site https://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=redhat

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linux distribution</span> Operating system based on the Linux kernel

A Linux distribution is an operating system made from a software collection that includes the Linux kernel and often a package management system. Linux users usually obtain their operating system by downloading one of the Linux distributions, which are available for a wide variety of systems ranging from embedded devices and personal computers to powerful supercomputers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GoboLinux</span> Linux distribution

GoboLinux is a Linux distribution whose most prominent feature is a reorganization of the traditional Linux file system. Rather than following the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard like most Unix-like systems, each program in a GoboLinux system has its own subdirectory tree, where all of its files may be found. Thus, a program "Foo" has all of its specific files and libraries in /Programs/Foo, under the corresponding version of this program at hand. For example, the commonly known GCC compiler suite version 8.1.0, would reside under the directory /Programs/GCC/8.1.0.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arch Linux</span> Rolling release distribution of Linux

Arch Linux is an independently developed, x86-64 general-purpose Linux distribution that strives to provide the latest stable versions of most software by following a rolling-release model. The default installation is a minimal base system, configured by the user to only add what is purposely required.

Puppy Linux is an operating system and family of light-weight Linux distributions that focus on ease of use and minimal memory footprint. The entire system can be run from random-access memory (RAM) with current versions generally taking up about 600 MB (64-bit), 300 MB (32-bit), allowing the boot medium to be removed after the operating system has started. Applications such as AbiWord, Gnumeric and MPlayer are included, along with a choice of lightweight web browsers and a utility for downloading other packages. The distribution was originally developed by Barry Kauler and other members of the community, until Kauler retired in 2013. The tool Woof can build a Puppy Linux distribution from the binary packages of other Linux distributions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pardus (operating system)</span> Linux distribution

Pardus is a Linux distribution developed with support from the government of Turkey. Pardus' main focus is office-related work including use in Turkish government agencies. Despite that, Pardus ships in several languages. Its ease of use and availability free of charge has spawned numerous communities throughout the world.

Black Lab Linux is a discontinued free software Linux distribution for x86 and x86-64 hardware. It was first released in November 2013 by PC/OpenSystems LLC. Black Lab Linux is based on Ubuntu Linux tailored both for general desktop use and for the more technical user. It is commercially made available by PC/OpenSystems LLC for business desktops, education facilities, as well as parallel computing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peppermint OS</span> Linux computer operating system

Peppermint OS is a Linux distribution based on Debian and Devuan Stable, and formerly based on Ubuntu. It uses the Xfce desktop environment. It aims to provide a familiar environment for newcomers to Linux, which requires relatively low hardware resources to run.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nova (operating system)</span> Cuban state-sponsored Linux distribution

Nova is a Cuban state-sponsored Linux distribution launched in February 2009. It was developed in Havana at the University of Information Science (UCI) by students and professors to provide free and open-source software (FOSS) to inexperienced users and Cuban institutions. While the initial version was Gentoo-based, the developers switched to Ubuntu beginning with Version 2.1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BackBox</span> Security-oriented Linux distribution

BackBox is a penetration test and security assessment oriented Ubuntu-based Linux distribution providing a network and informatic systems analysis toolkit. It includes a complete set of tools required for ethical hacking and security testing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mageia</span> Unix-like operating system forked from Mandriva Linux

Mageia is a Linux-based operating system, distributed as free and open-source software. It was forked from the Mandriva Linux distribution. The Greek term mageía (μαγεία) means enchantment, fascination, glamour, wizardry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solus (operating system)</span> Linux operating system

Solus is an independently developed operating system for the x86-64 architecture based on the Linux kernel and a choice of Budgie, GNOME, MATE or KDE Plasma as the desktop environment. Its package manager, eopkg, is based on the PiSi package management system from Pardus Linux, and it has a semi-rolling release model, with new package updates landing in the stable repository every Friday. The developers of Solus have stated that Solus was intended exclusively for use on personal computers and will not include software that is only useful in enterprise or server environments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SolydXK</span> Linux distribution

SolydXK is a Dutch Linux distribution based on Debian. It aims to be simple to use, providing an environment that is stable, secure, and ideal for small businesses, non-profit organizations and home users.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LXLE Linux</span> Lightweight Linux distribution

LXLE is a Linux distribution based upon the most recent Ubuntu/Lubuntu LTS release, using the LXDE desktop environment. LXLE is a lightweight distro, with a focus on visual aesthetics, that works well on both old and new hardware.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Void Linux</span> Independent distribution developed entirely by volunteers

Void Linux is an independent Linux distribution that uses the X Binary Package System (XBPS) package manager, which was designed and implemented from scratch, and the runit init system. Excluding binary kernel blobs, a base install is composed entirely of free software.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cub Linux</span> Computer operating system

Cub Linux was a computer operating system designed to mimic the desktop appearance and functionality of ChromeOS. It was based on Ubuntu Linux LTS 14.04 "Trusty Tahr". It used Openbox as the window manager and tools taken from LXDE, Gnome, XFCE as well as a number of other utilities. It was a cloud-centric operating system that was heavily focused on the Chromium Browser. Cub Linux's tagline was "Cub = Chromium + Ubuntu".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uruk GNU/Linux</span>

Uruk GNU/Linux-libre is a PureOS-based Linux distribution. The name Uruk is an Iraqi city that states its Iraqi origin. Uruk GNU/Linux 1.0 was released on 13 April 2016 and it ships with the most common software for popular tasks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KaOS</span> KDE-focused Linux distribution

KaOS is a desktop Linux distribution that features the latest version of the KDE desktop environment, the LibreOffice office suite, and other popular software applications that use the Qt toolkit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elive</span> Linux distribution developed by Samuel F. Baggen

Elive is a non-commercial Linux distribution based on Debian. It uses the Enlightenment desktop environment, offering a live DVD and a persistent USB image for 32- and 64-bit computers with Intel or AMD x86 processors.

References

  1. ↑ "DistroWatch.com: Put the fun back into computing. Use Linux, BSD". DistroWatch. Retrieved 29 Jan 2019.
  2. ↑ "DistroWatch.com: Put the fun back into computing. Use Linux, BSD". DistroWatch. Retrieved 29 Jan 2019.
  3. ↑ "About DistroWatch". DistroWatch. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  4. 1 2 "DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 278". DistroWatch. 17 November 2008. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  5. ↑ "DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 279". DistroWatch. 24 November 2008. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  6. ↑ "DistroWatch Donations Programme". DistroWatch. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  7. ↑ https://distrowatch.com/search.php?ostype=Other+OS&category=All&origin=All&basedon=All&notbasedon=None&desktop=All&architecture=All&package=All&rolling=All&isosize=All&netinstall=All&language=All&defaultinit=All&status=All#simple [ bare URL ]
  8. ↑ "How Mighty Mint became one of the most popular Linux distros". TechRadar. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  9. ↑ Terry Relph-Knight (2012-02-10). "A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint". ZDNet . Retrieved 2015-11-23.
  10. ↑ Jake Edge (2011-12-07). "Distribution "popularity"". LWN.net . Retrieved 2015-11-23.
  11. ↑ "Groklaw - Some Facts about openSUSE and Distrowatch Figures - A Correction". Groklaw. 11 January 2007. Archived from the original on 19 May 2012. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  12. ↑ Noyes, Katherine (25 April 2012). "Which Linux Distro Is Fairest of Them All? Ubuntu, Survey Says". PCWorld. Retrieved 17 June 2012.

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