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I currently have Mandriva and Ubuntu installed. I like Mandriva, and I LOVE Ubuntu. Why are there so many distros? |
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For the same reason that there are so many cars... or so many DVD players. We've got to be careful to understand what a Distro is. To slightly simplify, a Distro is simply a version of Linux with a different set of installation pre-sets, and a different choice of software installed over the base system. The same occurs in the Windows world - while the underlying Windows XP / Vista / 7 is shipped, different PC manufacturers (OEMs) will pre-install a different set of software. In the Windows world, these pre-installed software choices are normally down to commercial pressures - which ISP will offer the most to have their logo as a "click here to set up XXX" on the desktop, which anti-virus software will offer the PC manufacturer the biggest kickback to have a 30-day trial of THEIR anti-virus pre-installed. In the Linux world, the pressures are different. While SOME distros are based on commercial pressures, others are based on a wide variety of different models. Generally what happens is that a distro exists, and then some group of people want it to evolve a certain way... while another group want it to evolve in a different way. In the Windows world, there are hierarchical mechanisms, mostly within Microsoft, to decide which set of choices will dominate - in the Linux world, however, in most cases, the minority group of geeks can take the base they like, let's call it MarksLinux 1.0, and see what happens - they can decide to make "DavesLinux 1.1" if it turns out that "MarksLinux1.1" doesn't evolve in the way they'd hope. To a certain extent, comparing Linux to Windows is, if you'll pardon the pun, comparing apples with oranges. In some respects, the Linux world more closely resembles the ENTIRE I.T. ECONOMY, in that there isn't one central control, but a whole bunch of different people / organisations releasing competing products. On that basis, asking "Why are there so many Distros" is like asking "Why are there so many operating systems?" There are many Linux distros for the same reason that there is a choice between Microsoft, Apple, Linux and BSD... for the same reason that there is a choice between Lenovo, Dell, Compaq, and Packard Bell... for the same reason that there was a choice between Microsoft Office, Smart*Suite, WordPerfect Office, StarOffice, OpenOffice.org... and the last example is instructive because it demonstrates that many will fall by the wayside. If the 20th Century taught us anything, it's that markets generally provide a better solution than central planning. (For all that the last few years have shown the limitations of markets, it's not at the stage that market-fundamentalists have to build walls and erect gun towers to shoot those who try to flee the market economy, in a way that centrally-planned economies had to.) The beauty of the OpenSource model is that it allows multiple products to be brought out, and compete with each other, in a way that allows far more efficient leverage of the best bits of the losers, and a next generation of everything that incorporates the best of the best (where best means "best for the particular niche that the provider is targetting) rather than meaning "the best for anything." Or, put another way, it's a lot easier to build Ubuntu by looking at Debian than it would be for a startup with a few million to build a new Hybrid by looking at a Prius. |
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Different operating systems are for different things. I'm a hacker, so I prefer BackTrack 4 of all the Linux distros. It's for cracking Wi-Fi networks. It's hard to do though. Is being a hacker what you do for a living? Do you do it illegally? How did you learn to become a hacker? Sorry for the questions, I'm trying to find what I want do do with computers for a living and this has always been something that has interested me. I'm only 14, so I don't have to make a living yet, my parents are still taking care of me. But what I can tell you, is that it's great to have the knowledge, buts it's bad to use it in malicious ways. Linux is very easy to hack into, if you look at my blog, link below, I explain how you can obtain full GUI control from an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. Luckily, Linux distros come with openSSH installed, that's the biggest security flaw for a computer to have. You can find some other passcode or password cracking software on the net, but I'm not allowed to tell you where or how. I explain in my blog how to hack your own computer on your own network. The link is below. 2
I don't consider you a hacker. To call yourself a hacker seems like an insult to many of my friends, who write the software, find and exploit the same vulnerabilities that make it easy for you to "hack". They do the hard work. Why is OpenSSH "the biggest security flaw for a computer to have"? I bet Firefox has more vulns than OpenSSH! All out-of-date systems (Linux or not, OpenSSH installed or not) are "easy to hack" and require the same effort. OpenSSH doesn't come installed by default on the major Linux distros. Script kiddies only use password cracking software as a last resort, these days. I've written my own viruses. You're welcome to try them if you want. And I'm also a developer as well as a hacker. What languages do you program in? Objective-C is the main language, after that would be AppleScript, then HTML, then C, then Javascript. Listed in those orders are how well i know them. I know objective-c very very well, along with AppleScript. It seems to me that one who claims to know lots about Objective-C but significantly less about C hasn't put their priorities in order. What would you use the following code for? int foo = INT_MAX + 1; HTML isn't a programming language. It's a shame they're not in reverse order. Javascript would probably have been the ideal language to start with there. Didn't really care about taking the approach of C nor Javascript. HTML is a language, hyper text markup language. I took advantage of objective-c, because I could make iPhone and Mac apps with it. I'm kinda fluent in it, still getting there, but I know a lot about it. Like I said, C nor Javascript is right for me, because For Javascript, I don't update my website much, and for C, I've never had to use really. You use the same understanding in Objective-C (hopefully). For example, if you couldn't point out that the above piece of code invokes undefined behaviour (could cause crashes) in Objective-C, C++ or D then it'd be wise to go back and study C some more. You should be able to write iPhone apps in C. After all, you can write iPhone apps in Scheme, Javascript, Python, C#, etc... and an Objective-C compiler should be able to compile (most) C code. Here's an interesting challenge for you: Write a function that inputs a pointer to an object and outputs an indication of the storage duration for the object (eg. int storage_duration(void *object) { ... }). Specify the return value as you see fit. Don't quite understand what you mean. You want me to make a pointer point at an object? @Seb. Give it a rest man. He is just fourteen and just trying to get some trolling attention. He obviously knows nothing about C++. Hence his outstandingly faulty list of programming knowledge. "Hackers" don't come out and call themselves hackers. Many are monitored by the government, and would be thrown in jail if any evidence proved they were performing illegal activities. Saying so on a forum incriminates you. He's looking for hacker friends. Aren't hackers resourceful? I'm sure he'd been contacted by someone if he was any good. http://lockergnome.net/questions/48043/best-way-to-form-a-hacker-group His blog contains regurgitated information. My grandmother could hack an iPhone, there are step by step how-to's on youtube. AppleHack23: "Can I SSH into a Linux computer thats on another network?".... AppleHack23, you asked that question a couple DAYS ago. If you have to ask, you are not a hacker. And the answer is yes. There are competitions around the country for that type of thing. AppleHack23, I know you are young and ambitious. That's a great start, and trust me son, being intrigued is the first step. Get some books on C. Not C++. This is the book most, including myself have started with, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_C_Programming_Language_(book). Get in the know-how, Seb mentioned pointers and dereferenced addressees above -learn C and then move to C++. Learn the code, and you will start to see where vulnerabilities can exist. But please, don't go around showcasing things you are not. Someone more serious than Seb and I will get offended and maliciously cripple your online life. I am not a troll. How about you people read my questions correctly, rather than changing them to something they're not? I already have a book on C, ok, I don't like it. The guy who wrote it is an idiot, and I just don't have time for it. And for your information, I knew that it was possible to SSH into another computer over the Internet, it hadn't occurred to me that all I had to do was setup a port forwarding port inside the router to port 22. And about that hackers group thing, I am not looking to learn from other hackers, I am looking to form a with other hackers and develop an extremely useful application, or find exploits within certain softwares. It has malicious activity involved whatsoever. There are different types of hackers out there, white hat hackers, and grey hat hackers, I happen to be a white hat. lol apple learn something like C/C++ or Python. They are very easy to pick up. All but one of the languages you mentioned aren't programming languages And what is the language that is a programming language? @Seb, bet you thought he was another skiddie(script kiddie, someone who uses software made by others to attack/ infiltrate a system or network)! bajabobtx: I can't help it. I love to learn. I also love to teach, because it enforces my understanding of the subject. The fact that I may be helping him to correct his inconsistent understanding only makes it that much more worthwhile. AppleHack23: You don't know about storage duration? There are three of them in C. They exist in Objective-C, too: static, automatic, and allocated. I wouldn't be surprised if Objective-C defined a couple more. I'd be impressed if you were capable of writing a function that inputs a pointer to an object, and returns the storage duration of the object using your own conventions for output. That is the task I specified earlier. Yes, this involves making a pointer point to an object. NULL doesn't point to an object, so in that case you'd return a value that indicates unknown storage duration ;). I can smell the smoke already. If the author is an idiot, then you shouldn't buy/read his/her book. That doesn't mean you shouldn't learn C. Studying Objective-C without first studying C is a bit like learning how to cook pasta without first learning how to boil water. C is a simple language compared to Objective-C, and the concepts defined by C are crucial to correctly understanding Objective-C, C++ and/or D. If you can't develop a program that is conformant to the C standard, I wouldn't expect you to be able to develop a program that is conformant to the Objective-C standard. The book bajabobtx mentioned is a great book, written by the pioneers of C. I suggest borrowing it from your local library, and having a read of the first few chapters before evaluating the language. Please don't confuse vulnerabilities with exploits. That's a categorical error in your head. The only example of software that contains exploits is exploit code itself. Vulnerabilities are the mechanisms that exploits use to bypass security. You'll find vulnerabilities in non-exploit code, but you won't find exploits there. Volsere: I discourage the use of the slash in "C/C++". Please use a comma in its place. If it compiles with a C compiler, it's C. Objective-C, AppleScript, C and Javascript are all programming languages. BeigeGenius: He is another s'kiddie, and I mean this in the politest possible way. The fact that he appears to be confusing vulnerabilities with exploits (or "searching for exploits within softwares") confirms this. I don't like C, tried it, didn't like it. I love Objective-C, and I understand just about everything I come across with it. OK, I'm finished with this discussion. Just keep in mind, you're not programming in Objective-C if your code doesn't follow the standard. It may work, but working is a loose term when you consider how vastly architectures differ. x86/x86-64 is not the only architecture on the planet. Not everything you can do in Objective-C has the same affect across all implementations. Does alignment or padding mean anything to you? Do you know how to use bitfields portably? Are you aware that bit shifting a signed integer can result in a segfault? I've been a 14 year old programmer, and I know what it feels like to think I know everything... I also know what it feels like to be proven wrong, and I was just trying to save you that embarrassment. Enjoy your learning. Seb, as a Christian, there is nothing I have to be afraid of, that also means, that I have nothing to be embarrassed of. And I have coded on many different architectures, i386, armv6, armv7, x86_64, and ppc. You've coded on a 386? Those computers are older than you are! Wish all of you would contribute to something helpful & worthwhile to humanity...FFS!, volunteer at a soup kitchen if you have so much spare time. If all you have time for is "digital bravado"~ you are all disappointing...Rise up to the challenge & help~
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Different strokes for different folks. Some people like to run servers, some people like to develop software and some people like to do web browsing. It's all about taste, and there are Linux distributions to accomodate for most tastes. |
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Everyone has their own idea of the "perfect distro", or they need one to accommodate specific scenarios. Because it's open source, it's relatively simple for one (who has the know-how) to build and market a distro that targets a certain userbase or need. If Microsoft made Windows open source and easy to alter, the same thing would most likely happen. |
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Because they can, a lot of distros for a lot of things, and you know you don't have to stay with a 7 or just with a OsX, Linux is big and you can actually choose, for example if you are new (or not) you can choose Ubuntu, If you are intermediate you can choose Debian and if you are advanced you choose the one you like, you can also have a distro just for movies or for editing video. Different likes and uses = Many distros. |
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how would life be if we only have one type of hamburger? |
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It's the power of the license. So one makes Debian, another Ubuntu, and another UberStudent http://uberstudent.org And so forth. |
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Software Freedom. You can make a distro and customize it like you want. |
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Been playing around with Linux since the mid 90's. After installing distro after distro...I find anything which I can use right out of the box...then configure when I have the time to dink around is what works best for me. Of everything out there...Puppy/Mint/PCLOS/Ubuntu/FreeBSD are my favorites in that order. With 8 GB of RAM on my quad-core...I built this system to record/edit video/audio (since I was in radio production for about 20 years off/on & have 2 USB TV Tuners on my machine) & run virtual machines. |
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Linux distros give the end user a chance to test & to eventually find an OS that suits them. Many run on far less hardware specs than Windows, which makes Linux a good candidate for older systems that will still be useful for many more years- as file/music servers, internet/email boxes, etc...Also, because it's open source, if you get the bug to try your hand at a bit of programming or delve a bit further, you can customize anything within Linux to suit you. T |
Chris Pirillo's take on this question: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZwDE9bg0bE