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A new trend in Linux development is the Live-CD. A Live-CD is a CD that can boot an Intel x86 or Apple PowerPC computer in a Linux operating system running entirely from the CD and memory, nothing is installed to the hard drive. The Live-CD illustrates the versatility of Linux and is a useful tool for people who would like to try Linux but cannot afford to buy some new hardware or do not want to repartition their Windows hard drive. Most Live-CD’s have common applications like web browsers, CD burning software, instant messengers, email clients, and office software installed. This gives a user a chance to experience Linux with nothing more difficult than putting a CD in the CD-ROM drive. The original and most popular Live-CD is Knoppix Linux 3.3, which boots an x86 computer in Linux. Other distros like Gentoo have created Live-CDs that will boot an x86 or ppc machine. The Linux Live-CD has evolved from a fun concept to a very useful tool. The Live-CD can be used to test system compatibility with Linux, recover lost data on a machine that will not boot in its installed operating system, diagnose hardware problems, and win converts over to Linux. Many Distros of Live-CD Linux offer different features. Some are made extremely small in size (40MB) and others have the ability to write system configuration files to floppy so the users data is saved for the next time the Live-CD is used. If you are interested in the Linux Live-CD talk to me after the presentation.