Discover Linux

The first link to go to is the home of the distribution Damn Small Linux and the download page.

And speaking of penguins, anyone interested in the history of Tux, the loveable Linux mascot, will want to read his life history.

The Free Software Foundation has more information about the ideals behind Open Source software and more depth on the concept of 'free as in speech, not as in beer'.
Open Source software is not restricted to Linux, with many programs released in this way for Windows. Examples include Firefox, CDex and ThunderBird.

We mentioned the different versions of Windows and the differences between them, Microsoft has more information that might be useful. Whilst on the subject of Microsoft, the Virtual Desktop Manager gives extra desktops for windows, very helpful for anyone with lots of software running at the same time.

Linux has many more versions called distributions. An excellent place to compare distributions is Distrowatch. If the list of top 100 distributions is too much a listing of the major distributions is a better place to start. The statistics page is a good place to find specific information and check is a particular distribution comes with a particular program.

If you don't want to download a copy of Damn Small Linux and would prefer it already on a CD, UseLinux and thelinuxshop sell copies ready to use.

Making a live CD requires more than copying the .iso file onto a CD, but ISO Recorder makes the process very simple. The author also has a tutorial on using the software.

The software used to run Damn Small Linux from within Linux, Qemu, can be used with more than just this particular distribution. The FreeOsZoo has more information along with lots of operating system images ready to download.