If you have been persuaded by my argument to use Linux or atleast to see for yourself if any of my comparisons hold water, perhaps the first confusion that might arise is why are there so many flavours of Linux? I had mentioned previously that “Linux” strictly speaking in and of itself is not an operating system. What we refer to as Linux is only the kernel which essentially is the core of an operating system on top of which other utilities are added to make it useable. These utilities, in our context, belong to the GNU (GNU is Not UNIX) foundation which incorporated the Linux kernel to produce what is properly called as the GNU/Linux operating system.

To digress a little, the GNU foundation was started by Richard Stallman an American programmer who wanted to create an operating system like UNIX without any of its proprietary code. Stallman had started his foundation to rewrite most of the core utilities found in UNIX under a license where the software could be freely and openly distributed. The foundation, however, was persistently troubled by the development of a proper kernel until Linus Trovalds entered the picture, with his new pet project. Perhaps through luck or sheer happenstance, the meeting of both these projects birthed one of the most influential operating systems to have existed.

Since the kernel itself was developed in isolation and remained unfettered by a monolithic operating system, it allowed for the possibility to package the Linux kernel differently, keeping in mind the various needs and preferences of the user. This is what produced the plethora of Linux distributions that often overwhelms a user in his forays into the world of UNIX. But most distributions that exist are essentially “forks” or derivatives of 3 major flavours: Debian, Fedora and Arch. These distributions come with different package managers and adopt fundamentally different philosophies on what constitutes the ideal distribution. Debian and Fedora for instance place an emphasis on stability whereas Arch is willing to make some compromises on it to provide quick updates to its users. The distributions are managed by a host of maintainers who are responsible for the overseeing the distribution’s core repositories and its releases.

It might seem quite surprising for novel users to discover that such elaborate mechanisms governing the release and the management of these various flavours of Linux are brought about by sheer collaboration. A significant proportion of contributors who help these distributions grow are not in any way financially rewarded for their support. The ethos of this community is heavily colored by a sense of understanding and respect its members hold for each other, making collaboration a product of not obligation but a concern to return the favour. The organic nature of this process is what propelled the development of these distributions in the absence of any large scale corporate oversight.

But the question still remains, which Linux distribution might be the most ideal for you? For a person with little to no understanding of the internal workings of a computer, any derivative based on Debian and Fedora might be a reasonable choice. Distributions like Ubuntu, Pop OS, Linux Mint come with a graphical environment post installation, which makes it somewhat intuitive to a user formerly mired by Windows all his life. These distributions can also be dual booted, a process where two or more operating systems can be used in one or multiple storage devices attached to a computer. Dual booting can be somewhat tricky to implement with distributions whose installers require a manual configuration of partitions. With the little distributions I have used, Ubuntu’s installer comes with an option to install Ubuntu alongside Windows so no manual configuration is required in that case.

Despite the sheer number of distributions available some of which might appeal to your uncanny tastes and sensibilities, it would be prescient to choose a flavour with a fairly large community. Stable distributions with a wide user base will mostly not cause problems with regular use. However there are instances where even such distributions pose issues in which case community support would help immensely. Whatever your choice of distribution maybe, I think it is important to remember that the growth and the maintenance of distributions is largely a social process.

Using a particular flavour of Linux puts you in a position where you have a shared experience with millions of users the world over. In communal spaces, these users often exchange ideas and insights pertaining to improvements that can be made or issues persistently bothering them. Sometimes you even find them talking about technology or even life in general. In my experience it has always been fruitful to engage in these communities not only for the support they offer when you are struggling with problems but also that its often nice to meet people who share your interests and even technical issues that might at times make you feel you are the only person in the entire world cursed with such a problem. I assure you, you are not.