Debian Debian GNU/Linux 3.1 (sarge)

I am an IT Manager who uses Debian both at home and work. It is one of the simplest operating systems to install and use. In my opinion it beats OS's like Windows and Mac OS hands down because of the security, stability and choice of free software available for it.

It beats other Linux distributiors (such as Mandriva, SuSE, Fedora) because of it's excellent update and package installation features. The package (program) management in Debian is second to none. Latest packages are available quickly and updates even quicker.

You will only install Debian once. Once installed you can give a single command (either typed or using a graphic interface) that will update your entire system and all software installed on it.

As with most Linux distributiors, the choice of software available is vast but you get an excellent default choice of programs installed with the base system. These include things like the KDE desktop (including many excellent features), Mozilla Firefox browser, OpenOffice.org office suite.

If you can find an open source program out there, chances are there's a Debian package for it and that makes installation a one command trip which checks for bug reports and installas and sets up the software ready for use.

If you are fed up with security scares, programs that crash and lock up the whole computer, having to use expensive third party programs just to type a letter. Nightmare updating procedures and low choice of software then Debian is for you.

Many have said that Debian is for techies, it's not. You do need some technical knowledge - such as what graphics card you are using - but in my experience most home computer users should be able to happily install and use it.

It's available as a free download (various sizes but smallest is 50mb) or you can order cheep cd's from placs like CheepLinux.com for a few quid.