Now that you have a detailed hardware inventory and maybe even a computer to
use, what do you do? You must choose your distribution (often referred to as
a ‘distro’). Let’s first define what a distribution is not. A distribution is
not Linux - Linux is an operating system. A distribution is not a graphical
interface - that is left to the X window system and the GUI such as Gnome,
KDE, XFCE,
Blackbox, or one of many others.
A distribution is not what you see when you are at the command line - a Command
Line Interface - cli - what is commonly referred to by those on the outside
simply as DOS, where they see a prompt with a blinking cursor.

Well, then, what is distribution? A distribution is a just what it says - a distribution - a distribution of programs. Thousands of them all bundled together in some kind of hopefully cohesive format. At the core of every distribution is Linux - the kernel. Surrounding the kernel are various apps that load the Linux kernel into memory when the computer boots, programs that allow one to interact with the hardware performing functions such as copying, moving, and otherwise manipulating files. Most, if not all distributions use thousands of open source programs and routines made freely available by their author/s via a license agreement that allows anyone to use their programs how they see fit. Some produce their product for profit, some for pride, some for learning, some simply for the love of it or even because they think they can do it better than the next person.

*Anyone* can make their own distribution and distribute it. That is exactly what RedHat, Debian, Gentoo, SuSE, Slackware, Mandrake, Mepis, Lindows and many, many others have done and continue doing. All that is required is the time, desire, expertise, determination, and resources. So really, the distribution is not special as anyone can make their own. But there are many to choose from and it can seem quite overwhelming at first.

We won’t be spending much time with distro reviews, as there are many of them around - try some googling using the keywords, “linux distribution review” and you will have in front of you lots of clicking and reading to do. However, user reviews are always welcome - and, I would like to see some, “This is what I like about RedHat or Mandrake or whatever.” For instance, one of the features of Debian that has kept me using Debian is apt. IMHO, apt is the best package manager in existence (a simple explanation: a package manager is the method a given distribution uses to install programs - examples are apt, rpm, emerge, Click ‘N’ Run, and YaST). Think of a package manager as an alternative to Add/Remove Programs and you won’t be far off.

So get to it; do some googling and try some different distros. And hey, once you decide on a distro, don’t be afraid to make a donation or pay the asking price. A little money spent can be a good thing. Linux may be “free,” but it ain’t.