Some of you out there are fairly new to linux. So in brief, what is linux.

The linux kernel was developed by Linux Torvalds as an undergrad to primarily make the source code generally free to all. The OS is comprised of many small applications with specific purpose, many of which tools came from BSD unix and System V Unix.

It is the only truely free Unix-like Operating System and comes with many "spins" and "flavors" as some call it. Many of which users pick by the builtin applications already on there. Some will conceive their own version of linux to trim down the extra fat on the OS.

List of different distributions(not all):

Debian	Fedora	Gentoo	Mandriva
openSUSE	Slackware	Ubuntu(debian based)	Slax
PuppyLinux	Linux Mint	PCLinuxOS	BackTrack
RedHat**	openSolaris(Unix)	CentOS	Dragora

** Red Hat Enterprise Linux(RHEL) is free to use, however updates are subscription based because of the labor and testing behind the updates from Red Hat, Inc. Subscriptions for desktops can average around $50 for moderate self-support with options of forums. There is also the $300 package which provides support from Red Hat, in which a Red Hat technician will help you troubleshoot issues.

Common misconceptions of Linux:

1. Hard to work with and is not user friendly!
2. Command line only! Omg...
3. Linux is only for geeks!
4. Completely Secure!

The Unix-like OS is not very hard to work with, in fact, it has much easier components and documents to work with than Windows does. Not only that, the linux communities are very supportive in helping past some beginner and advanced issues with your Linux OS of choice.

http://www.linuxquestions.org http://www.fedoraforum.org http://ubuntuforums.org