"'We are in the business of building communities,' says Henri
Poole, chief executive of Mandrakesoft, the French software company
which publishes the Linux-Mandrake 'distribution', emphasising the
essential difference between it and other distributions for the
Linux open source operating system."
"Distributions are collections of software that go to make up a
working Linux system. They are needed because, Linux, properly
speaking, is nothing but a 'kernel' - that is, a piece of software
that handles basic computer functions. It communicates with the
hard disk, keyboard, screen, and so on."
"These functions are essential, but useless without other
software necessary to carry out productive tasks. Some of this
software includes word processors and spreadsheet software, but
much of it is far more fundamental, like programs to list files.
Without distributions, users would have to spend weeks collecting
this software themselves."