How to get a copy of a Linux distribution
May 24, 2008 by Clair Ching
Filed under The Free World.
For those who don’t have internet access, getting a copy of Linux is a pain. You can’t download the ISO for the simple reason that you probably only go to the Internet cafe to browse and email. Thankfully there are avenues even for those with limited bandwidth.
- Go lo-fi — ask a friend to burn you a copy of a CD. It wouldn’t hurt to text a friend for a disc.
- Buy one. If you could spare a few minutes of your time, buy one online and they will ship it to you. There’s always Ebay as well as other distributors of Linux DVDs. If I recall correctly, there’s a way to set up your Ebay account so that you get notified just in case somebody outbidded you. I haven’t seen any local shop selling Linux CDs and DVDs so maybe you could help me out this category.
- Order one for free. An example of a distribution you could ask one for free is Ubuntu. I recently requested a copy of Hardy Heron and got it this week. It might take a long time (considering everything) but if it’s your first time to try a distro, it will buy you enough time to get familiar with concepts about Linux and free software in general.
I hope that you get to try out Linux in various configurations and what-not. 
Another option for getting Linux distribution discs is to buy a copy of a magazine such as Linux User or Linux Magazine, as a number of these magazines include a disc with each issue that features one or more distros along with free software. For example, Linux User’s current issue features the live/install cd for OpenGEU, which is a mix of GNOME and Enlightenment desktop environments on top of Ubuntu. The magazines usually feature an article that guides you through installation and basic usage as well.
The main problem with this is that you are pretty much stuck with using whatever distro the magazines happen to feature that month.
Hi, Doug! Sadly we don’t have such magazines here or we have to get it in particularly bookshops or magazine stands. But thanks for point that out.
I hope that readers from other countries have access to that too.