Contents of Distros

Damn Small Linux (DSL) is an ultra-compact Linux distribution designed for older machines. It can run a fully-functioning desktop on a 486 with 16MB RAM! It includes software for internet usage, basic office work and music playback. Here are three ISO images for burning to CD-Rs and booting (or running in VirtualBox); the standard dsl-4.2.3.iso should work fine on most machines, but try the other ISOs if you have problems booting.
Go to this directory
Visit the homepage

Fedora is a continuation of Red Hat Linux, with support from the community. It's known for pioneering many features that end up in Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and has a reputation for including the best bleeding-edge software. Consequently it's always very much up-to-date and great for experienced users on the desktop. Here is an ISO CD image that you can burn to a CD-R and boot from, or use in VirtualBox.
Go to this directory
Visit the homepage

Knoppix is one of the longest-running Live distros, letting you try Linux straight from the DVD without having to install it. It's known for excellent hardware detection and squeezing a colossal amount of software onto the disc. To run Knoppix, boot your PC from this DVD and choose Knoppix at the boot menu - more info in the mag.
Visit the homepage

PCLinuxOS, originally based on Mandriva, is one of the hottest up-and-coming distros. Second only to Ubuntu on the DistroWatch popularity lists, PCLinuxOS combines a Live mode (so that you can run Linux without having to install) with great config tools and a slick desktop. PCLinuxOS runs directly from this DVD - see the mag for more info. Note that the password for the root (admin) user is 'root', and the password for the guest user is 'guest'.
Visit the homepage

Zenwalk was based on the venerable Slackware Linux distribution, and is a very fast and compact distro for desktop machines. It includes the Xfce desktop environment and lots of software for typical home/office machines, without overloading you with a million program choices. Here you'll find an ISO image - burn it to a CD-R and boot from it, or run the ISO in VirtualBox as described in the magazine.
Go to this directory
Visit the homepage