Pear OS is a new Linux desktop distribution based on Ubuntu. Development started in early August 2011, and Pear OS 1.0, the first version marked “stable,” was released on August 15 2011. The newest release is Pear OS Linux Panther 3.

After Ubuntu gained popularity, some distributions switched to Ubuntu as their base distribution and many new Ubuntu based distributions started to appear. Most of these can be categorized based on the following criteria

Element 1.1 is a distribution designed specifically for home theater or media center computers. This is obvious when you boot up Element 1.1 which brings users Firefox, Transmission, XBMC, Decibel Audio Player, VLC, and many other useful multimedia apps together on this customized version of the XFCE desktop.

The very first edition of what is now called StartOS were based on Ubuntu, but the distribution has since dumped Ubuntu to become one that is not based on any other distribution. In other words, it is now an original or independent distribution, with its own package management system.

Jolicloud 1.1 is the latest stable release of Jolicloud, the cloud-based, Ubuntu-based distribution. Other than being a cloud-based distribution, the most distinctive feature of Jolicloud is the netbook-optimzed interface, which is one of five netbook-optimized interfaces available on Linux and BSD distributions.

SuperOS is an Ubuntu-based Linux distribution that makes Ubuntu more usable while remaining compatible with it. This is done by implementing several beginner-friendly tools and features.

Ubuntu may just be one of the most popular distributions that the Linux community has developed over the past five years. What has made this distribution so popular is not only that it’s available for free download but you can also get a free CD mailed to you. This makes it easy for those who do not or don’t know how to burn a CD image of an .iso file.

Momonga is a Linux distribution based on Fedora. It is a community-developed distribution with roots in Japan (the name is derived from a species of flying squirrel found in Europe and parts of Asia). Like Fedora, it is a multi-purpose distribution, a Free distribution, with a script that makes it easy to build and install non-free applications.

If you think about learning how to create dynamic database-driven web sites, the simplest way is to start with PHP and SQLite. Ubuntu is a wonderful Linux distribution that makes installation of this software extremely easy.