Slackware is a Linux distribution created by Patrick Volkerding in 1993. Originally based on Softlanding Linux System, Slackware has been the basis for many other Linux distributions, most notably the first versions of SUSE Linux distributions, and is the oldest distribution that is still maintained.
IceWM is a stacking window manager for the X Window System, originally written by Marko Maček. It was written from scratch in C++ and is released under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License. It is customizable, relatively lightweight in terms of memory and CPU usage, and comes with themes that allow it to imitate the GUI of Windows 95, Windows XP, Windows 7, OS/2, Motif, and other graphical user interfaces.
Slax is a LiveCD Linux distribution developed by Tomáš Matějíček and based on upstream customizable Linux distributions. Packages can be added by apt package manager or can be prepared as modules. The tagline for Slax refers to itself as "your pocket operating system".
A light-weight Linux distribution is one that uses lower memory and/or has less processor-speed requirements than a more "feature-rich" Linux distribution. The lower demands on hardware ideally result in a more responsive machine, and/or allow devices with fewer system resources to be used productively. The lower memory and/or processor-speed requirements are achieved by avoiding software bloat, i.e. by leaving out features that are perceived to have little or no practical use or advantage, or for which there is no or low demand.
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.
slapt-get is an APT-like package management system for Slackware. Slapt-get tries to emulate the features of Debian's (apt-get) as closely as possible.
VectorLinux, abbreviated VL, is a Linux distribution for the x86 platform based on the Slackware Linux distribution, originally developed by Canadian developers Robert S. Lange and Darell Stavem. Since version 7 the Standard Edition is also available for the x86-64 platform, known as VLocity64 7.
Zenwalk GNU/Linux is a desktop-focused Linux distribution founded by Jean-Philippe Guillemin. It is based on Slackware with very few modifications at system level making it 100% compatible with Slackware. Zenwalk aims to be a modern and multi-purpose Linux distribution by focusing on internet applications, multimedia and programming tools. Zenwalk comes with many specialized tools, designed for beginner through advanced users, as it offers system configuration via both graphical and command-line operations.
Frugalware Linux has been a general-purpose Linux distribution designed for intermediate users who are familiar with command-line operations. Early versions were based on Slackware, but it later became an independently developed distribution. Frugalware made use of the Pacman package management system from Arch Linux.
KateOS was a Linux distribution originally based on Slackware. It was designed for intermediate users. Its package management system used so called TGZex (.tgz) packages, which unlike Slackware packages support dependency tracking (optional), internationalized descriptions, and were designed for ease of update. There were two native tools for package management: PKG and Updateos. The last version released was KateOS III (3.6), including as a Live CD, in 2007.
LXDE is a free desktop environment with comparatively low resource requirements. This makes it especially suitable for use on older or resource-constrained personal computers such as netbooks or system on a chip computers.
NimbleX is a small Slackware-based Linux distribution optimized to run from a CD, USB drive or a network environment. NimbleX has been praised for how fast it boots, as well as for its small disk footprint, which is considered surprising for a distribution using KDE as desktop environment. NimbleX was also remarked for its web site that allows users to generate custom bootable images using just a web browser. It was also covered in mainstream Romanian press as the first Linux distribution put together by a Romanian.
antiX is a Linux distribution based on Debian Stable.
Salix OS is a multi-purpose Linux distribution based on Slackware.
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.
Porteus is a portable operating system based on Slackware. It does not require installation and can be run from fixed and removable media, such as a USB flash drive or compact disc.
ArchBang Linux is a simple lightweight rolling release Linux distribution based on a minimal Arch Linux operating system with the i3 window manager, but was previously using the Openbox windows manager. ArchBang is especially suitable for high performance on old or low-end hardware with limited resources. ArchBang's aim is to provide a simple out-of-the-box Arch-based Linux distribution with a pre-configured i3 desktop suite, adhering to Arch principles.
Antergos is a discontinued Linux distribution based on Arch Linux. It includes the GNOME desktop environment by default but it could also employ the Cinnamon, MATE, KDE Plasma 5, Deepin, and Xfce desktops. It was first released in July 2012 as Cinnarch and by June 2013 it was ranked among the top 40 most popular distributions viewed at DistroWatch. The Galician word Antergos was chosen "to link the past with the present".
Kwort is a Linux distribution, based on CRUX. Kwort's desktop environment is Openbox.
