The compact and flexible nature of the Linux Kernel, plus the fact that it and all its support code is modular open source, means it lends itself very well to stripped down small and efficient distributions. This article explores a few of these distributions and explains just how useful they can be.
Most of the Linux limelight is taken by a handful of desktop and server distributions, but there are more GNU/Linux distributions than you can shake a stick at, and they are built to fill every specialist niche and cranny in the computer universe.
Some of the more interesting distros are the smaller examples which may boot from a USB flash memory stick (LiveUSB), run entirely in small amounts of RAM, or work on older PCs with little disk space and less memory. Some are fully functioning distros with office suites and web browsers; others have a well defined purpose, to act as a repair and data retrieval tool to cut and paste and fix the broken bits of your system.
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