What is a Live CD?

Many Linux distributions have been designed as so-called "LiveCDs", which are CDs that can be booted directly into a usable Linux system. In contrast to the "rescue mode" boot option available in most widely used distributions, these LiveCDs are designed to provide a complete set of tools that can be used when booting from a CD, some of which are Universal, some are highly specialized. David Mertz describes this rapidly growing branch of the Linux market.