Debian, also known as Debian GNU/Linux, is a Linux distribution composed of free and open-source software, developed by the community-supported Debian Project, which was established by Ian Murdock on August 16, 1993. The first version of Debian (0.01) was released on September 15, 1993, and its first stable version (1.1) was released on June 17, 1996. The Debian Stable branch is the most popular edition for personal computers and servers. Debian is also the basis for many other distributions, most notably Ubuntu.
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.
Damn Small Linux (DSL) is a discontinued computer operating system for the x86 family of personal computers. It is free and open-source software under the terms of the GNU GPL and other free and open source licenses. It was designed to run graphical user interface applications on older PC hardware, for example, machines with 486 and early Pentium microprocessors and very little random-access memory (RAM). DSL is a Live CD with a size of 50 megabytes (MB). What originally began as an experiment to see how much software could fit in 50 MB eventually became a full Linux distribution. It can be installed on storage media with small capacities, like bootable business cards, USB flash drives, various memory cards, and Zip drives.
Kanotix, also referred to as KANOTIX, is an operating system based on Debian, with advanced hardware detection. It can run from an optical disc drive or other media i.e. USB-stick without using a hard disk drive.
PCLinuxOS, often shortened to PCLOS, is an x86-64 Linux distribution, with KDE Plasma Desktop, MATE and XFCE as its default user interfaces. It is primarily free software operating system for personal computers aimed at ease of use. It is considered a rolling release.
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.
Musix GNU+Linux is a discontinued live CD and DVD Linux distribution for the IA-32 processor family based on Debian. It contained a collection of software for audio production, graphic design, video editing and general purpose applications. The initiator and co-director of the project was Marcos Germán Guglielmetti.
gNewSense was a Linux distribution, active from 2006 to 2016. It was based on Debian, and developed with sponsorship from the Free Software Foundation. Its goal was user-friendliness, but with all proprietary and non-free software removed. The Free Software Foundation considered gNewSense to be composed entirely of free software.
Linux Mint is a community-driven Linux distribution based on Ubuntu, bundled with a variety of free and open-source applications. It can provide full out-of-the-box multimedia support for those who choose to include proprietary software such as multimedia codecs.
Software remastering is software development that recreates system software and applications while incorporating customizations, with the intent that it is copied and run elsewhere for "off-label" usage. The term comes from remastering in media production, where it is similarly distinguished from mere copying.
Wubi is a free software Ubuntu installer, that was the official Windows-based software, from 2008 until 2013, to install Ubuntu from within Windows, to a single file within an existing Windows partition.
OpenGEU was a free computer operating system based upon the popular Ubuntu Linux distribution, which in turn is based on Debian. OpenGEU combined the strengths and ease of use of GNOME desktop environment with the lightweight, and graphical eye candy features of the Enlightenment window manager into a unique and user-friendly desktop. While OpenGEU was originally derived from Ubuntu, the design of the user gave it a significantly different appearance to the user, with original art themes, software and tools.
EasyPeasy was a Linux-based operating system for netbooks. EasyPeasy was built upon Debian and Ubuntu, but was customized for low-powered computers and access to web applications. EasyPeasy is maintained as an open source project, though it primarily uses popular web applications or proprietary software over free and open source software alternatives when the functionality offered is deemed better by its users.
The TurnKey Linux Virtual Appliance Library is a free open-source software project which develops a range of Debian-based pre-packaged server software appliances. Turnkey appliances can be deployed as a virtual machine, in cloud computing services such as Amazon Web Services or installed in physical computers.
Peppermint OS is a Linux distribution based on Debian and Devuan Stable, 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.
Parabola GNU/Linux-libre is an operating system for the i686, x86-64 and ARMv7 architectures. It is based on many of the packages from Arch Linux and Arch Linux ARM, but distinguishes from the former by offering only free software. It includes the GNU operating system components common to many Linux distributions and the Linux-libre kernel instead of the generic Linux kernel. Parabola is listed by the Free Software Foundation as a completely free operating system, true to their Free System Distribution Guidelines.
HandyLinux is a simplified Linux operating system developed in France, derived from the Debian stable branch. It was designed to be easily accessible and downloadable, so that it could be used by people with very little computer experience and on a range of older hardware that was no longer supported by the latest versions of proprietary operating systems. It was particularly aimed at older people with dated hardware who do not need nor possess the skill to use many features afforded by state-of-the-art operating systems.
JLIVECD is an open source CLI based live CD/DVD customization tool for Debian, Arch Linux, Ubuntu family distributions and Linux Mint and some of their derivatives. The host system is not restricted to be the same as the live CD/DVD system.
