Linux has something for (almost) everyone. The goal of this article is to help you find the best Linux distro for whatever job is at hand.

Let’s get to it.

Thinkstock/Knoppix

Best live distro: Knoppix

Knoppix popularized the concept of the live CD of Linux that lets you run the entire operating system from the media, without installing anything to the hard drive. Knoppix played a big role in the adoption of Linux on the desktop because new users can try it without risking their existing systems. Later, other distributions adopted the concept of live mode to help potential users to test the system.

Because Knoppix is lightweight, you get a base system and may still need to install certain packages that you want to use. That said, the DVD edition of Knoppix comes with hundreds, if not thousands, of packages installed. I even found 3D modeling and 3D printing software, where else will you find that?

Knoppix is also a great distribution for rescuing data from corrupt systems; you can simply boot into Knoppix and rescue data held hostage in the C drive of a corrupt Windows partition. I don’t even recall how many systems I have rescued using Knoppix.

Knoppix can also be installed on a hard drive and be used as a regular system. Being an extremely lightweight distribution, it’s quite suitable for really old and low-powered systems.