Ever heard of a “Live Linux” disk? Know what that means? Simply put you download an image, burn it to a CD and the OS runs off the ram and processor power of your computer without ever touching your hard disk (unless you want it to). Forensics use Live Distributions for their investigation of hard-drives, while Linux users them for travel. Never having to leave your OS behind is a wonderful thing (and yes you can run most of them off a flash drive too)!
SLAX Linux distribution
SLAX is based off of Slackware Linux and uses the KDE desktop display, and it can run on computers of moderate to fast speeds, it comes bundled with Mozilla FireFox and all kind of other tools. This distribution is not designed to be installed on your hard disk and is a primarily ‘Live Only’ kind of distribution. There are several versions of it, including a server version.
Link: http://www.slax.org/
Damn Small Linux
DSL is a popular Linux distribution that fits on a 50 megabyte mini-disk – it runs on most computers going back to when Windows 95 seemed new (as long as you have the RAM power) and is very stable. It comes with a web browser and all the essential tools, and runs like a charm. This one IS designed to be installed to the hard disk and can act as a great OS for an older system in need of some TLC.
Link: http://damnsmalllinux.org/
Puppy OS
Puppy OS is another live distro designed for the beginning Linux user, it has a lot of functional and educational software included, and can be installed or run live as chosen. Puppy OS has a huge amount of software available for editing and audio, great interface for beginners and comes with some simple games. This Live Distro has a simple easy to follow hard-drive installation that is very small and very easy to use. Great, great distribution for beginners to the Linux world.
Link: http://www.puppyos.com/
For more Linux distributions I recommend distrowatch.com – a full list of all kinds of distribution available. Also, check Linux Distributions.
