Kimberly
Aispuro
CRN: 21107
September 27, 2009
Linux is an operating system
that was developed by Linus
Torvalds in 1991. Linux is considered a clone of Unix, an
operating
system for mainframe computers developed in the 1960s.
However, Linux was
completely rewritten by Torvalds and other people from around the world
since
it was an open source software. It all began in the 1970s
when Richard
Matthew Stallman joined the MIT "hacker community" as a programmer
who gained popularity. Stallman later founded the Free
Software
Foundation during the 90s with the hopes of creating a free operating
system
(compatible with UNIX) by the name of GNU. Stallman and a
group of other
programmers created the tools needed to create an operating system
under a
license known as GPL. Around the same time, a professor by
the name of
Andy Tanenebaum created an OS similar to UNIX called Minix.
But in 1991
Linus Benedict Torvalds, a student from the University of Helsinki,
decided to
improve Minix by completely rewriting it with his own kernel, now
widely known
as Linux.
Linux Distributions are a group of Unix
based software
created for Linux kernel. There are currently hundreds of
these
distributions out there. Two of them include Ubuntu and
Fedora.
Ubuntu is an operating system distributed as a free open source
program.
The OS comes with some well-known installed software like Firefox and
Open
Office. You can use Ubuntu on a PC by using a live cd or by
installing it
from a downloadable file from Wubi, which allows Ubuntu to be installed
and run
within a virtual windows loop device. Ubuntu is one of the
most popular
Linux distribution for desktop and it focuses on easy use and
security.
Another widely known linux distribution is Fedora. Fedora is
more of a general
purpose OS sponsored by Red Hat (a major Linux distribution
vendor).
Fedora is distributed in several different ways, some include a CD or
DVD set
that includes all major Fedora packages, Live CD, or a minimal CD that
contains
a software that installs it into your PC.
There are several ways to install a
Linux
distribution. One way is to partition your hard drive and
then boot the
Linux installation software from a CD so you can install the OS and
other
installable software. Another popular method is by using
servers like
Wubi that allows Windows users to install a Linux distribution so they
can dual
boot either operating system (Windows or Ubuntu for instance).
One of the most popular applications
used in Linux is
AbiWord. AbiWord is a word processing similar and compatible
to that of
Microsoft Word. AbiWord can run almost any operating system
out there and
is available in several different languages. Another popular
application
used not only in Linux, but in many other operating systems is
Firefox.
Firefox is one of the best leading web browsers and is widely known for
it's
high speed secured browsing.
Not only is it cheaper than Windows, but
one of Linux's
advantage over Windows is security. Linux OS has been around
for a while,
since 1990s to be exact, and it's still much more safer than
Windows.
This might be merely because Windows is more popular, but even if there
were a
bunch of viruses released for Linux, the fact that it is an open source
program
would have people around the world working for patches. A
great
disadvantage of Linux against Windows would have to be that it does not
run
alot of commercial software. Most game and software
developers still
don't release a Linux version for their products. Sure you
could use
WINE, an application that allows you to use Windows' programs on Linux,
but
most users wouldn't know how to use it correctly and it doesn't work
with all
applications.
