What is Linux?

Linux is kernel, that is the heart of all Linux distros.

Linux an be downloaded from

http://kernel.org/

Linux itself is not an operating system.

Linux distros like RedHat, Debian, etc... are build by combining many user land software (GNU) with linux kernel. Since Linux is used as kernel, most of these Linux Distros are generally knows as Linux OS.

You can build your own Linux distro if you want, find more details at

http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/

Thanks for the info Nokia.
Thanks for the new forum.

Try Ubuntu its user friendly and you can install it on your laptop as well in dual OS mode.

i have ubuntu cd's. Can i install ubuntu in fat32 and use xp also?

Yes, but Ubuntu will transform the space you give it in a more modern filesystem than fat32...

thanks Taupe.

Linx is a very good kernal. Operating systems made on this are very powerful. These OS's are not yet attacked by viruses.

After trying a few distros, I settled on Fedora. With Fedora, you do get more bugs, but you also get more hardware support. For example, neither Debian nor Ubuntu would install on my laptop, because they tend to stay far behind on updates. I suppose it depends on the system you want to install it on, but I would say if you have a new computer, with new technology, go with Fedora.

ubuntu 7.04 has fixed many bugs....did a few installs...now it works and looks better than windows...

Linux, development, source codes, flexibility, makes a good programmer.