UVLUG Mirror Project


Welcome to the UVLUG mirror page!

This page was designed for two types of UVSC Students:

  1. UVLUG Members who want quick access to their favorite Linux iso's from campus
  2. UVLUG Members who would like to try out several distributions to find one that suits them best (good luck, I still ain't found one!)

BIG FAT DISCLAIMERS:


The DistroWatch.com Top Ten

Rank Name Version Summary  
1 Ubuntu 6.10 "Edgy Eft"

Distrowatch Summary

The distro that I always wind up coming back to. Installer CD doubles as a live cd, so this is a good choice if you want to try out linux without destroying your data. Simple, quick install process. Debian-based, uses the apt package manager. Like Debian, it has a fairly large repository available to it, but unlike debian, it doesn't have the annoying ban on proprietary packages in official repositories.

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2 openSUSE 10.2

DistroWatch Summary

A good looking distro, the only major one with a quick and easy 3D desktop setup. Tends to be somewhat bloated. Also has an unfortunate stigma associated with it after the Novell-Microsoft deal of last year. RPM based

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3 Fedora Core 6 (Zod)

DistroWatch Summary

RPM based project sponsored by Red Hat. While it shares many elements with it's enterprise level big brother, it is NOT an open source copy of Red Hat linux. (Those looking for that should look into CentOS) Fairly good looking, easy package managment, and very easy to find software for it online. The bad news is that it's servers tend to be fairly slow for upgrades

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4 PCLinuxOS 0.93a

DistroWatch Summary

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5 SimplyMEPIS 6.5

DistroWatch Summary

Another great Debian-based distro. This one gives you access to the entire Debian repos. Fantastic Hardware support.

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6 Debian 4.0 "Etch"

DistroWatch Summary

Debian is probably the most stable distribution that I can think of. The developers have an obsession bordering on paranoia about stability and security, making this an almost ideal choice for server applications. The bad news is that stability makes new releases few and far between, and their firm stance on non-opensource packages will be annoying to most desktop users.

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7 Mandriva 2007

DistroWatch Summary

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8 Sabayon 3.3

DistroWatch Summary

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9 Damn Small Linux 3.3

DistroWatch Summary

Besides having a cool name, this distro is surprisingly useful for how small it is. A live CD that will fit on a business card CD, and can install if you so choose.

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10 Mint 2.2

DistroWatch Summary

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BSD FreeBSD 6.2

DistroWatch Summary

For those who like to take a walk on the Wild side - or looking at a dedicated server OS - there's BSD. BSD has been around since before linux, and was the first UNIX clone out there.

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Personal Favorites

Most of these aren't terribly popular, but I've come to like them for one reason or another.

Name Version Summary Downloads
Gentoo 2006.1

DistroWatch Summary

This was my distro of choice for a goodly long time. What makes this distro unique is that instead of using prebuilt binary packages, Gentoo builds each package from source according to your preferences. After installing this, you will certainly have a better understanding of how a linux system works. The bad news is that installing a Gentoo system can take days. Also, recent internal strife has slowed development on Gentoo, damaging it's stability.

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Slackware 11.0

DistroWatch Summary

While still a linux system, this distro feels and behaves a lot like a BSD / UNIX system. Uses a custom package manager

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Vector 5.8

DistroWatch Summary

Slackware based, small, light and powerfull. VADM Utility makes for a easy system administration.

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