Difference between revisions of "GNU/Linux"
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As an example, in March of 2007 the server hosting the the Conservapedia web site was running the Linux operating system<ref>[http://toolbar.netcraft.com/site_report?url=http://www.conservapedia.com NetCraft site report for Conservapedia.com]</ref> | As an example, in March of 2007 the server hosting the the Conservapedia web site was running the Linux operating system<ref>[http://toolbar.netcraft.com/site_report?url=http://www.conservapedia.com NetCraft site report for Conservapedia.com]</ref> | ||
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== References == | == References == | ||
Revision as of 02:36, July 26, 2007
Linux is a UNIX-like operating system. It incorporates the Linux "kernel" developed by Finnish grad student Linus Torvalds.
The source code is distributed freely under the open source General Public License (GPL).
Originally the term "Linux" was used to refer to just the kernel developed by Torvalds, but today it is used interchangeably to refer to both the kernel and a complete operating system which includes the kernel, graphical user interface, file system and other software, collectively known as a distribution. Major Linux distributions include Red Hat, Suse and Ubuntu.
Linux is a unix style operating system. It is known to run 6 or more of the world's top supercomputers.[Citation Needed] It has legendary reliability.[Who says?] Linux servers can run without reboot for years.[Citation Needed] It is worth mentioning that there are other free operating systems not based on the Linux kernel that Linux borrow from and has been a source of inspiration to: namely freebsd, openBSD, netBSD, and dragonflyBSD, and the more recent Minix 3 and openSolaris. Free operating systems allow a great deal of new ideas to be tried and collaboration made possible by the Internet makes teams easy to form. NetBSD is famous for running on almost any hardware[Citation Needed], OpenBSD is perhaps the most secure operating system in the world[Citation Needed], and freeBSD has been powering computers for free since before Linux became popular[Citation Needed]. Opensolaris is a free version of SUN microsystems proprietary Solaris OS.
Newer distributions of Linux continually raise the bar for usability and creativity. Archlinux, Gentoo, and Gobolinux are 3 interesting distributions.
Owing to the nature of open source software, many variants of a Linux distribution may be created by using the original code and making changes to it to suit a particular need. For example, there is also a Ubuntu Christian Edition.[1]
Mark Shuttleworth, who is the founder of the Ubuntu Linux distribution, said about the Satanic version of Kubuntu: "Ubuntu is a broad church! We manage to keep both GNOME and KDE folks happy and collaborating constructively, so this should be no trouble at all. Our guiding rules are enshrined in the Ubuntu Code of Conduct[2], and as long as all sides are following that, there’s no problem with derivatives that are focused on such diverse user bases."[3]
Linux has become one the most commonly adopted operating systems in the world[Citation Needed]. While personal computers still overwhelmingly use Microsoft operating systems such as Windows XP, Linux is a common choice for web servers, file servers and embedded platforms, thanks to its perceived reliability, low/no cost, and the fact that modifications to the source code can readily be made by anyone.
As an example, in March of 2007 the server hosting the the Conservapedia web site was running the Linux operating system[4]