Debian, also known as Debian GNU/Linux, is a free and open source Linux distribution, developed by the Debian Project, which was established by Ian Murdock in August 1993. Debian is the basis for many other distributions, such as Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Tails, Proxmox, Kali Linux, Pardus, TrueNAS SCALE, and Astra Linux.
A Linux distribution is an operating system that includes the Linux kernel for its kernel functionality. Although the name does not imply product distribution per se, a distro, if distributed on its own, is often obtained via a website intended specifically for the purpose. Distros have been designed for a wide variety of systems ranging from personal computers to servers and from embedded devices to supercomputers.
Scanner Access Now Easy (SANE) is an open-source application programming interface (API) that provides standardized access to any raster image scanner hardware. The SANE API is public domain. It is commonly used on Linux.
Ubuntu is a Linux distribution derived from Debian and composed mostly of free and open-source software. Ubuntu is officially released in multiple editions: Desktop, Server, and Core for Internet of things devices and robots. The operating system is developed by the British company Canonical and a community of other developers, under a meritocratic governance model. As of October 2024, the latest interim release is 24.10, with most-recent long-term support release is 24.04.
NX technology, commonly known as NX or NoMachine, is a remote access and remote control computer software allowing remote desktop access and maintenance of computers. It is developed by the Luxembourg-based company NoMachine S.à r.l. NoMachine is proprietary software and is free-of-charge for non-commercial use.
CPython is the reference implementation of the Python programming language. Written in C and Python, CPython is the default and most widely used implementation of the Python language.
PulseAudio is a network-capable sound server program distributed via the freedesktop.org project. It runs mainly on Linux, including Windows Subsystem for Linux on Microsoft Windows and Termux on Android; various BSD distributions such as FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and macOS; as well as Illumos distributions and the Solaris operating system. It serves as a middleware in between applications and hardware and handles raw PCM audio streams.
HAL is a software subsystem for UNIX-like operating systems providing hardware abstraction.
This page is a comparison of notable remote desktop software available for various platforms.
Adaptive Internet Protocol (AIP) is a multi-channel protocol that allows an application running on any of multiple platforms to be displayed on any of a wide range of client systems. It supports rich remote display and input services with a number of display options to deliver the presentation of the remote applications onto the local display either as a standalone window, or within a contained remote environment delivered full-screen or in a standalone window. The protocol also supports audio, printing, and other device mapping services.
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 to create a unique and user-friendly desktop. While OpenGEU was originally derived from Ubuntu, the design of the user gave it a significantly different appearance, with original art themes, software and tools.
Remote Desktop Services (RDS), known as Terminal Services in Windows Server 2008 and earlier, is one of the components of Microsoft Windows that allow a user to initiate and control an interactive session on a remote computer or virtual machine over a network connection. RDS was first released in 1998 as Terminal Server in Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server Edition, a stand-alone edition of Windows NT 4.0 Server that allowed users to log in remotely. Starting with Windows 2000, it was integrated under the name of Terminal Services as an optional component in the server editions of the Windows NT family of operating systems, receiving updates and improvements with each version of Windows. Terminal Services were then renamed to Remote Desktop Services with Windows Server 2008 R2 in 2009.
WeeChat is a free and open-source Internet Relay Chat client that is designed to be light and fast. It is released under the terms of the GNU GPL-3.0-or-later and has been developed since 2003.
Smuxi is a cross-platform IRC client for the GNOME desktop inspired by Irssi. It pioneered the concept of separating the frontend client from the backend engine which manages connections to IRC servers inside a single graphical application.
Ubuntu One is an OpenID-based single sign-on service operated by Canonical Ltd. to allow users to log onto many Canonical-owned Web sites. Until April 2014, Ubuntu One was also a file hosting service and music store that allowed users to store data "in the cloud".
Linspire is a commercial operating system based on Debian and Ubuntu and currently owned by PC/OpenSystems LLC. It had been owned by Linspire. Inc. from 2001 to 2008, and then by Xandros from 2008 to 2017.
Besides the Linux distributions designed for general-purpose use on desktops and servers, distributions may be specialized for different purposes including computer architecture support, embedded systems, stability, security, localization to a specific region or language, targeting of specific user groups, support for real-time applications, or commitment to a given desktop environment. Furthermore, some distributions deliberately include only free software. As of 2015, over four hundred Linux distributions are actively developed, with about a dozen distributions being most popular for general-purpose use.
X2Go is open source remote desktop software for Linux that uses a modified NX 3 protocol. X2Go gives remote access to a Linux system's graphical user interface. It can also be used to access Windows systems through a proxy.
xrdp is a free and open-source implementation of Microsoft RDP server that enables operating systems other than Microsoft Windows to provide a fully functional RDP-compatible remote desktop experience. It works by bridging graphics from the X Window System to the client and relaying controls from the client back to X Window Server.
