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ALT Linux is a set of GNU/Linux distributions based upon its development project, ALT Linux Sisyphus (http://altlinux.org/index.php?module=sisyphus). There are single-disk desktop versions (Junior (http://altlinux.org/index.php?module=junior23) and Compact (http://altlinux.org/index.php?module=compact)) and "huge" universal product suiting both server, desktop and development uses (Master (http://altlinux.org/index.php?module=master)).
ALT Linux Team arose from IPLabs Linux Team, a Moscow firm subdivision, in 2001. The latter cooperated with Linux-Mandrake and SuSE teams to improve localization (specifically Cyrillic) but at some point enough differences in its "Linux-Mandrake Russian Edition" became in fact distribution-specific and thus the decision was made to create ALT Linux project.
Since 2001, the project has attracted many contributors -- as of September 11, 2004, ALT Linux Team consists of 138 members from 6 countries.
The project is sometimes considered Mandrake-rooted, which has mostly historical significance for now; it can be approximately described as having some nice features of Mandrake, Debian, SuSE, Conectiva, PLD, Owl, and adding a fair share of original improvements (http://altlinux.org/index.php?module=intproj).
The strong points for the distribution are:
- correct localization
- improved security out-of-box (+updates)
- developer-friendly team welcoming new members
- user-friendly and competent community
- advanced package management with APT and Synaptic
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