I think the turnover in Linux distributions is really part of the magic of Linux. Oh sure, we lose a few here and there but then we also gain new ones that better serve the needs of Linux users. Plus we also have strong distributions that stay around forever such as Ubuntu, Suse, Linux Mint and many others. I can understand though how this might confuse some folks who are new to Linux and who aren’t used to having such a huge range of choices for their computers. If all you’ve ever used is Windows or OS X then it might seem strange to see Linux distributions rising and falling regularly. Compared to the number of Linux distros, there aren’t all that many versions of Windows or OS X.