If you’re given access to a Linux machine without being told the Linux distribution being used, there are a couple of ways by which you can determine the Linux distribution

OPTION 1: Use the lsb_release utility.

The Linux Standard Base (LSB) is a joint project by several Linux distribution vendors working under the Linux Foundation, to develop and promote a set of open standards that will increase compatibility among Linux distributions and enable software applications to run on any compliant system even in binary form.

The lsb_release utility which is part of all Linux distributions which adhere to the LSB specification will print distribution specific information. Check the lsb_release manpage for details on usage. Example screenshots of using lsb_release on Ubuntu and Fedora distributions are given below:

OPTION 2: Check release files in /etc.

Linux distribution vendors typically include release files with details about the distribution, in the /etc directory. Screenshots of examples showing how to check such files on Ubuntu and Fedora are given below:

If you’re familiar with the UNIX touch command to modify the access and modification times of a file or directory and are looking for an easy equivalent on Windows, you can use Stefan Küng’s SKTimeStamp. Stefan Küng is the lead developer of TortoiseSVN

Check out some screenshots of SKTimeStamp below:

Installation (note the Tortoise watermark)

Timestamps on file before modification (note the TimeStamps tab)

Timestamps on file after modification

With virtualization so popular, gone are the days when you would need to partition your hard drive and configure dual-boot to give you the option of running more than one OS on your computer.

Sun VirtualBox is a free, open source x86 virtualization software which allows you to create virtual machines (VMs) on your computer’s Operating System (host OS) and run other Operating Systems (guest OS) within the VMs. Sun VirtualBox is easy and intuitive to use and will enable you to quickly test an OS. Well, many OSes nowadays come with LIVE CDs/DVDs to enable you have a test run, but running these OSes in a virtualization software like Sun VirtualBox works better and faster.

Given below is a screenshot of my Sun VirtualBox console. As you can see, I use Sun VirtualBox to run three 64-bit guest OSes (Fedora 11, Solaris 10, Ubuntu 9.04). I have run 2 guest OSes simultaneously, each with 1 GB of allocated memory, without any issues (on my 4 GB Dell Studio XPS 16 laptop).