Who doesn't love choices? You can "have it your way" at fast food restaurants. No two cars ever cost the same, because of add-ons and price negotiations. We like choice. It's a good thing.

Right?

Choice, really, is a double-edged sword. We get too many choices, and we can get easily overwhelmed. "Oh crud, another option..." leads to "What do I care?" leads to "Forget it." We either select our options without thinking through (or understanding) the consequences, or we drop what we're trying to customize without ever getting all the way through.

Choosing a Linux distribution is tough. We're not kidding. There are a lot of them out there... some wonderful, some not so wonderful, and some that are designed to fit very specific needs you may (or may not) have.

So how are you supposed to sort through them all?

Here's a hint. You don't. Not all of them, anyway. There are two real criteria a Linux distribution has to meet for most users.

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