There is a great deal of confusion with the word 'Linux' because of how it is used popularly, versus technically. Technically, Linux is not an operating system. You may ask why? An operating system is system software that does two things: Manages computer hardware and software resources, and provides services for computer programs and applications. Most computer programs cannot function without the existence of an operating system. There are several components of an operating system that makes the computer work when put together. There is the boot loader, kernel, device drivers, security, networking, user interface, and user applications. The KERNEL is where Linux comes in. Linux is a kernel. Just like the name implies, a kernel is the core program of an operating system. it is the first program loaded on startup and performs several functions:

• controls the remainder of the start-up process

• controls the input and output requests from other programs

• manages memory and hardware devices, e.g keyboard

android, google's mobile operating system, uses a modified version of the Linux kernel. the kernel is open source and is the most widely used on the globe!

now, from the popular perspective of Linux, things begin to get interesting. In 1991, a young fellow named Linus Torvalds started developing the code of what we now know today as the Linux kernel. Many developers began combining the kernel with a free and open-source operating system known as GNU. they did this because the kernel had some features which GNU lacked. It became popular and controversy exists to this day on what to call the software using this kernel and GNU combination. the general public refers to this combination as LINUX, and those more technical refer to it as GNU/LINUX. the benefits of the combination are available to any user through what is known as distributions.

The first distribution of Linux I had ever heard about was Ubuntu. It stood out for me because before that, I was familiar with the moral philosophy of ubuntu, an Nguni Bantu term that means, 'humanity' or, 'I am because you are'. I had heard about it from the story of a social worker who visited a remote village and told the kids to play a game. he dropped some lollipops at a distance and declared a race where the winner (the fastest), would claim the sweet as their price. To his surprise, the kids linked their arms together and ran in unison. when they got to the lollipop, they shared it among themselves. the social worker asked why they did so, and they replied that they strongly believed in ubuntu. Neither of them would make it without the other.

Now, let's not deviate from the subject with this abridged version of the ubuntu story. Several distributions exist and how do you choose which is best for you? I will be discussing a couple of them and their features:

1. Ubuntu Ubuntu is popular and boasts of a user interface experience. It is best for beginners who are familiar with the windows operating system, as they would find it easy to navigate. Ubuntu releases its own desktop environment manager Unity by default. Ubuntu is a Debian-based operating system developed by Canonical. So it uses a core Debian package management system.

1. Debian Debian has entirely free and open-source software and has been undergoing continuous development for the past twenty years. There are three branches that you can use, Stable, Testing, and Unstable. Stable is 'stable', as the name implies. testing and Unstable are eventually converted to Stable whenever changes or upgrades are made. Debian also uses Debian package management tools.

2. Red Hat Enterprise Linux Red Hat, Inc. is an American IBM subsidiary software company that provides open-source software products to enterprises. Red Hat developed the Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). the source code is distributed for free but there are strict rules put in place to combat free redistribution. RHEL uses the RPM package manager.

3. Fedora Fedora is a type of hat so it is not surprising that the Red hat enterprise Linux is a branch of Fedora. It uses the RPM package manager as well, and all updates from Fedora moves to RHEL after undergoing testing. It is more user-friendly than RHEL.

4. Linux Mint This is based on Ubuntu, but it is lighter. It uses the Debian Package manager, just like Ubuntu. A great user interface, great for beginners.

5. Gentoo Gentoo is made for advanced users and people I'm generally scared of. Gentoo uses its package management, Portage. What is the point of Gentoo? Gentoo allows users to configure which software features they wish to install, instead of the "one size fits all" approach of many binary-based distributions. Gentoo is worth the effort if you want to learn how Linux works below the surface.

6. Arch Linux It uses its own package manager, Pacman, to install, update and manage packages. Arch Linux is a rolling release distribution. That means new kernel and application versions are rolled out to you as soon as they are released. It can be complex to install but if you get overwhelmed, arch wiki is there to help you. I also consider Arch Linux as advanced.

These are only a few of the popular Linux distros. I use the Ubuntu version in my virtual box. To learn more about Linux distributions, visit here :