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LINUX DISTRIBUTIONS COMPARED

Caldera OpenLinux 2.2   Debian 2.1   Linux Mandrake 6.1   LinuxPPC 1999, Release 5   Project Independence 6.0-0.2   Red Hat 6.0   Slackware 4.0   Stampede Linux 0.90   SuSE 6.1   TurboLinux Workstation 3.6  
Price $49.95  free  $50.00  $32.00  free  $79.95  $39.95  $19.95  $49.95  $19.95 
Target Consumers CDEHOV   CDEHOV   EDHOCV   CDEHOV   DEH   CDEHOV   CDEHO   DEHOC   CDEHOV   CDEHOV  
Kernel 2.2   2.0.36   2.2.9   2.2.6   2.2.10   2.2.5   2.2.6   2.2.10   2.2.5   2.2.9  
Binary Format
Primary/Other ELF   ELF libc6; libc5 for compatibility  ELF   ELF   ELF   ELF   ELF/a.out   x86, alpha   ELF   i386/ppc, alpha in development 
Hardware Required
Minimum Install 386, 8, 40   4MB, 100MB HD, 386   i586/50Mhz, 8MB, 350MB   16MB RAM, 100MB disk   250MB disk   P166, 16(64M), 500MB   386, 8, 40   386, 8, 60   386, 4(8), 50   386, 8, 150MB  
Minimum Use 386,8,40 as server; 486,32,300 as workstation   4 MB, 100 MB HD, 386   i586/100Mhz, 16MB, 400MB   64MB/350MB disk   16MB RAM   16   386, 8, 40   386, 6, 80   486, 8(16), 100   486, 16, 150-200MB  
Recommended Use Pentium, 64, 1000   8MB, 16 w/X, 500MB HD, Pentium  i586/200 Mhz, 64MB, 900MB   1GB (50MB for swap space)   32MB RAM   16   Pentium, 32, 1 GB   Pentium, 32, 500   Pentium, 16(32), 300   Pentium+, 32+, 500+  
Packaging
Package Format RPM   .deb   RPM   RPM   RPM   RPM   .tgz   SLP w/support for RPM   RPM,.tgz   RPM plus auto-upgrade  
Source Code Packages yes  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes 
Management Interface X, command line, Lizard, COAS, KDE  dselect/apt   kpackage, GnoRPM   X, command line, pdisk   GnoRPM   tty, web, X   ncurses, menus   console and X   YaST utility   custom curses and X interfaces 
Group/Subgroup Packages yes  classification, 3rd party  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes 
Boot Media
Boot Floppy included yes   yes   no   no   no   yes   no, CD-ROM is bootable   no   yes   yes, boot and extra hardware  
Boot images to select from module-based, no limit   2 for i386; diff for other architectures   9   n/a   2   2   60   10   1 with module support   1 modular; extra HW floppy has module for rare devices  
Floppies required none   none from CD; 1 or 2 if CD not bootable; 2 from network  FTP, NFS, HTTP installs,PCMCIA  none   1   1   2   2   1 boot floppy   0,1,2,3 depends on boot media and HW 
Run from
CD-ROM only no   yes  yes  yes  no   no   yes  no   yes  yes 
CD-ROM mostly yes  yes  yes  no   no   no   yes  yes  yes  yes 
Configuration
Custom X yes   yes   yes   yes   yes   yes   yes   yes   yes   yes  
Network yes   yes   yes   yes   yes   X, tty, web   text   yes   YaST   yes (console)  
SLIP/PPP yes   yes   no   yes   yes   X, tty, web   text, X (KDE)   yes   YaST   yes (console)  
User/Group yes   yes   no   yes   yes   X, tty, web   command line   yes   YaST   yes (X or console)  
Filesystem yes   yes   no   yes   yes   X, tty, web   text   yes   YaST   yes (X or console)  
Printer yes   yes   yes   yes   yes   X, tty, web   text (apsfilter)   no   YaST   yes (console)  
Runlevel/init yes   yes   yes   yes   yes   X, tty, web   no   yes   YaST, editing 1 config file   yes (console)  
Install
PCMCIA Ethernet yes  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes 
PCMCIA CD-ROM no   yes  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes 
from CD-ROM yes  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes 
from Floppy yes  yes  yes  no   no   no   yes  no   no   no  
from FTP no   yes  yes  yes  yes  yes  no   yes  yes  yes 
from local filesystem yes  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes 
from NFS yes  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes  yes 
from Tape no   media only   no   no   no   no   yes  no   no   no  
UMSDOS from Linux no   no   no   no   no   no   yes  no   yes  no  
UMSDOS from DOS no   no   no   no   no   no   yes  no   yes  no  
Media available yes/CD-ROM   yes   from HTTP or Windows (to -o loop mounted file)   yes   yes, planned   yes   FTP, CD-ROM   yes   yes   yes  
Documentation
Custom manual included yes   yes, electronic form   yes   manual is on-line   no   yes   36-page install guide   yes   yes   yes, 300 pages  
3rd party books/manuals yes (manuals)   yes   no   yes   no   no   yes   no   no   yes; over 30 w/3 in the works  
Extras
Non-GPLed extras included BRU, StarOffice, LISA   432 packages available   over 30 apps incl. WP 8.0, SO 5.1, IBM Lotus eSuite DevPack 1.5, QuakeII & Hopkins FBI demos   some MacOS software   N/A   bonus Linux Application CD w/samples of StarOffice, Applixware, etc.   Netscape, QT, xv   NetComm   AGAd, B,IX, LD, Me, MP, Net, SF, V   WP8, StarOffice 5, Tripwire. Non-Linux: X-Win32, TTWin, postgresODBC, vnc for Win32  
Support
Included 5-incident e-mail, 5-incdt/90-day install  mailing lists, bug tracking syst, online forums  100-day e-mail   e-mail installation support   none   30-day install/tel, 90-day e-mail  e-mail, phone   e-mail   60 day e-mail, phone, fax   60-day e-mail  
Optional support contracts   3rd-party only   nono   none   none   commercial   none   phone   consulting/professional   phone, 24x7, custom service level agreements  
Special certifications forthcoming Caldera training   -   -   -   -   Red Hat Certified Engineer   -   -   -   -  
Sales method used DFX   DF   DF   DFX   F now, D soon   DFX   DFX   DFX   DFX   DFX  

LEGEND
Target Consumers:

C         Commercial user
D         Developer/Engineer
E         Desktop/End user
H         Hobbyist/Enthusiast
O         OEM
V         Value Added Reseller
Sales Method Used:

D         Distributor
F         Free via FTP
X         Direct

Hardware Required:


Values are CPU, RAM (RAM for X), Disk