Is a distro a distro a distro? Why would anyone care?

In 2009, let's finally get on the same page about "Linux." We need the flexibility to use the word to describe a general distribution of Linux also.

Prejudices and opinions aside, at some point in your career you'll be asked to select a viable Linux distribution for your corporate network. How will you choose? Will you use the same distribution that you use at home or will you do some research and find something that's corporate-ready? Are you up to the task? Do you know what to look for in a distribution to support a corporate environment?

The only problem I see with it is, which one are you gonna choose for THE distribution? Will it be SUSE, Debian, Red Hat, Gentoo, or Slackware? Since it has to be a top-level distribution and not a derivative, it will have to be one of those. Let's examine those choices.

Well, choosing a Linux distribution is actually a matter of personal faith. There are largely three kinds of people: the one who use one of the many distributions available as is, those who install an available distribution and customize it to their satisfaction and the geeks who go a step further and create and use their own distribution. For the sake of simplicity, let's not talk about the third category for now.

Momonga is a Linux distribution based on Fedora. It is a community-developed distribution with roots in Japan (the name is derived from a species of flying squirrel found in Europe and parts of Asia). Like Fedora, it is a multi-purpose distribution, a Free distribution, with a script that makes it easy to build and install non-free applications.

One of the first things that confounds new users is that GNU/Linux is not a single operating system. Instead, it's the general name for hundreds of closely related operating systems -- distributions or distros, as they are usually called. All the distros share the Linux kernel and include many of the same utilities and programs, but differ in purposes and the resulting customizations.

That was one thing I did not like about it. The other thing I wondered is, will I be able to install my favorite Linux distribution on the it just as easily as I can on a regular notebook or desktop computer? The answer to that question, it turns out, is a

The Linux operating system is the most successful open source project in history, but just how much is the software in a Linux distribution “worth”? We estimate that it would take approximately $10.8 billion to build the Fedora 9 distribution in today’s dollars, with today’s software development costs. Additionally, it would take $1.4 billion to develop the Linux kernel alone.