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about linux
Linux is a free, Unix-like Operating System (fundamental software) that is
developed by a loosely knit team of talented programmers working from all
over the world. Linux works on almost every kind of computer in existance, and
provides a robust platform for a wide variety of applications.
Unlike most Operating Systems Linux is free in almost all respects. One can
download it off the internet at no charge, pass on copies to friends, and even
modify its internals. This 'freeness' has been one of the most critical reasons for
its success, and is turning heads in the industry and mainstream media.
Linux can be found not only on Intel Computers (on which it originally ran), but
also on Macintoshes and Alphas. In fact, Linux takes first place when it comes
to the support of diverse hardware.
Diversity is a key word when talking about Linux. Not only does Linux run on
very different hardware, but it can talk to a wide variety of networks. Linux is at
home with tcp/ip, novell netware, appletalk and is even comfortable with
Microsoft Networking and some of the more obscure protocols.
Linux is actually the name for the kernel (the core part of the operating system
that is responsible for critical things such as memory and file management). A
lot of what gives Linux its edge (such as the gcc compiler and the bash shell)
come from the GNU project. GNU is also responsible for the license that Linux
is distributed under. Even though Linux is really just a kernel, most peopleLinux costs nothing. Zero. Zilch. Nada.
Linux is free
You can go download Linux right now, make copies for all your associates, run
it on your commercial web server and even distribute it yourself, all without
breaking a single law.
Although Linux is available at no cost to anyone with the inclination to
download it, the key idea has to do with freedom of use rather than 'freeness'
with regard to price. The license under which Linux is licensed is called the
GPL (or the General Public License). This license allows users to sell, copy or
even change Linux to suit their own needs and agendas. The only stipulation is
that one must pass along the same freedom to sell, change and copy their
modifications.
While freeness in cost may be an indirect consequence of the GPL, its primary
objective is ensuring that Linux remains open and easily extendible. This
guarantees against stagnation since all control is decentralized. Anyone who
would possibly be able to add anything of value is always welcome to. As
Yahoo.com's Co-Founder, David Filo says, "When you have a lot of people out
there, from various backgrounds, looking at it, developing it, improving it
giving fixes back, that system works really well, and results in quality products."
This free and open nature lend themselves to the creation of an extremely
robust and stable Operating System. Contrary to popular belief, proprietary
software is by nature less reliable than free alternatives. Eric S Raymond, one of
the communitys most lucid supporters, explains : " in the closed source world,
your short-term profit incentive is to try and keep everything you do a trade
secret and extract the absolute maximum rent from that trade secret in terms of
initial cost of the software. And then your economic incentive is to put as little
money as you can get away with into supporting the fiction that you support your
software. OK? Now as a consumer do you want to live in that world, or do you
want to live in a world where source is primarily open and the people competing
for your dollars are service bureaus? This is why I think that ultimately the
closed software model and the whole Microsoft paradigm is doomed. "
Perhaps the ultimate example of the advantages of the free and open nature
that Linux is licensed under is the Internet. All of the major The most popular
web server on the internet, Apache, is free and licensed under a similar
agreement as Linux. The same goes for sendmail which is by far the number
one mail server in use today. Even the fundamental software which allows us to
use domain names (bind) is free, and more importantly, open.
Who owns Linux?
So who owns this much talked about Operating System? Everybody! Who
controls it? Everyone. Linux is not owned by any one corporation or person, but
is instead built and owned by the community. This cooperative model is in the
same spirit that the Internet was designed and built on.
From the beginning, when Linus Torvalds created the first Linux kernel and
shared it at no cost with world at large via the Internet, Linux has been open for
anyone to contribute to and improve on. People came and did so from all over
the world. Linux is a completely open and boundless project that is almost
organic in nature.
Even if you can't program in a computer language, you can still send your
queries and feedback to the developers for consideration. Your voice will be
heard! When it comes down to it, you have the freedom to influence and shape
Linux. Unlike other Operating Systems, it is the community that 'owns' and
controls Linux.
The Present
In the roughly eight years since it's inception, Linux has grown many orders of
magnitude more popular than Linus's most optimistic original expectations. It
has a user base estimated at somewhere just shy of 10 million, and offers many
significant advantages over legacy Operating Systems such as Windows.
An exciting series of developments for the Linux user are happening right now.
In the past, commercial support for hardware under Linux has been somewhat
sparse. Now, many companies, such as Creative Labs, Matrox and Netgear (the
organizations who know the hardware best), are making drivers and utilities
available for download from their websites or even on floppies boxed with the
hardware.
The Future
Today, corporations that would have scoffed the very idea of developing for
Linux (let alone releasing their source code) are lining up to support the
Operating System. Major companies such as SGI, Intel, IBM and Hewlett
Packard have announced support for Linux in various ways.
Indeed, the future looks bright for Linux. With the world poised on the brink of
widespread adoption of technologies such as ecommerce, online billing and
other applications which require the utmost in performance and reliability,
more and more organisations are turning to Linux as a solution.
With wider adoptance, more applications will be written. This will further fuel
the demand for Linux and will propel it into the 21st century.
associate it with a complete package.
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