If there are any friends who thinks that Windows and Linux are the only Operating systems available. Here is a list of free operating systems available on internet with the links. Don’t be surprised to see the huge list of Operating sytem @ wikipedia.
If you are new to the term Operating System, then have a look at How stuff works.
debian1 This is the most stable and most popular free OS available. it comes with over 25113 packages. Packages can be installed and upgraded using apt-get utility.Current version at this point of time is debian 5.0. Download link http://www.debian.org/distrib/
ubuntu operating system It is the hottest on Internet,This is a community developed, Linux based OS. You can read more about Ubuntu here. Latest version to be released is 9.04.
Download link http://www.ubuntu.com/download
damn small linux This is a 50 MB sized operating system.This can be run from a business card CD , or a flash drive. Boot from a USB pen drive/ business card CD
Run light enough to power a 486DX with 16MB of Ram, DSL has a nearly complete desktop, and a tiny core of command line tools
Download it from http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/download.html
fedoraFedora is one of the most common Linux-based operating system that showcases the latest in free and open source software. Fedora is always free for anyone to use, modify, and distribute.
Download link : http://fedoraproject.org/en/get-fedora
slax os , mini operating system Slax is one of the small and fast Operating system. It provide a great collection of pre-install softwares for all daily use.Follow a few steps to build your own customized operating system by using web-based interface.Supported applications includes VIM editor , Google earth, Open office and many many more ….
Download this from http://www.slax.org/get_slax.php
openbsd The OpenBSD project produces a FREE, multi-platform 4.4BSD-based UNIX-like operating system.OpenBSD is developed entirely by volunteers
knoppix Knoppix is called as an Operating system on a CD.
KNOPPIX is a bootable Live system on CD or DVD, consisting of a representative collection of GNU/Linux software, automatic hardware detection, and support for many graphics cards, sound cards, SCSI and USB devices.
Download link http://www.knopper.net/knoppix-mirrors/index-en.html
gentoo os Yet another free Os for secure servers, development workstations, desktops and gaming.
Download link http://www.gentoo.org/main/en/mirrors.xml
skyos SkyOS development is currently halted,The speed at which new hardware and technology gets developed has increased dramatically in the last few years. Trying to catch up with development of frameworks, drivers, applications, test, etc. got way more complicated than years ago
minix3 MINIX 3 is a new open-source operating system designed to be highly reliable, flexible, and secure. 50 MB is needed as a minimum,requires 16 MB of RAM
linuxmint It is a Debian-based distribution and as such it is very solid and it comes Originally launched as a variant of Ubuntu with integrated media codecs, it has now developed into one of the most user-friendly distributions on the market - complete with a custom desktop and menus with one of the greatest package managers.
reactos Reactos is not a clone of windows, but it is a free OS that is compatible with Microsoft Windows applications and drivers.They work closely with Wine project.They are working for a 100 % Windows compatable OS.
Download link http://www.reactos.org/en/download.html
puppy linux operating system Puppy linux is not based on any other linux distribuion.It is build from scratch. It is just 85 MB. It is created in June 2003.
# Extremely friendly for Linux newbies.
# Boot up and run extraordinarily fast.
# Have all the applications needed for daily use.
# Will just work, no hassles.
Download link http://www.puppylinux.com/download/index.html
netbsd — NetBSD is a free, secure, and highly portable Unix-like Open Source operating system available for many platforms, from large-scale server systems to powerful desktop systems to handheld and embedded devices.
Its clean design and advanced features make it excellent in both production and research environments, and the source code is freely available under a business-friendly license
haiku BeOS was an operating system for personal computers which began development by Be Inc.Haiku will be the realization of those concepts and technologies in the form of an operating system that is open source and free, inspired from BeOS. Download link: http://www.haiku-os.org/download
