Datasheet

18
Part I: Getting Your Feet Wet
or don’t load enough and later discover that their computers won’t do what
they want them to do. Fortunately for beginners, there’s a much simpler way to
install Linux.
A relatively new phenomenon in the Linux world is the bootable Linux CD
distribution, called a LiveCD. Most modern computers can start up by read-
ing the operating system from the CD instead of the hard drive. This arrange-
ment lets you see what a Linux system is like without actually installing it.
To take advantage of this feature, some Linux distributions create a bootable
CD that contains a sample Linux system. Due to the limitations on the single
CD size, the sample can’t contain a complete Linux system, but you’d be sur-
prised at all the software they can cram on there! The result is pretty cool:
You can boot your computer from the CD and run a Linux distribution with-
out having to install anything on your hard drive!
This is an excellent way to test various Linux distributions without having to
mess with your PC. Just pop in a CD and boot! All the Linux software will run
directly off the CD. There are lots of Linux LiveCDs that you can download
from the Internet and burn onto a CD for a test drive. Table 1-2 shows some
popular Linux LiveCDs that are available.
Table 1-2 Linux LiveCD Distributions
Distribution Where to Find It Description
Knoppix
www.knoppix.net
A German Linux distribution, the
first Linux LiveCD developed.
SimplyMEPIS
www.mepis.org
Designed for beginning home
Linux users.
PCLinuxOS
www.pclinuxos.com
Full-blown Linux desktop work-
station on a single CD.
Ubuntu
www.ubuntu.com
A worldwide Linux project,
designed for many languages.
Slax
www.slax.org
A live Linux CD based on a
subset of the Slackware Linux
distribution.
Puppy Linux
www.puppylinux.org
A full-featured Linux distribution
designed for older computers.