NOT AN OPERATING SYSTEM!!!!!!!!
Linux is a KERNEL, NOT AN OPERATING SYSTEM started by Linus Torvalds in 1991 at University of Helsinki in Finland. Linux was at first just a hobby for Linus. Linux is free software.
It just so happened that just when Linux was getting usable, GNU had everything it needed except a kernel. Thus, people started using Linux with GNU to make a completely free UNIX-like operating system called GNU/Linux.
Today Linux and GNU/Linux have come a long way from the early 1990's, although they're still mostly used by geeks.
Linux is a KERNEL, NOT AN OPERATING SYSTEM started by Linus Torvalds in 1991 at University of Helsinki in Finland. Linux was at first just a hobby for Linus. Linux is free software.
It just so happened that just when Linux was getting usable, GNU had everything it needed except a kernel. Thus, people started using Linux with GNU to make a completely free UNIX-like operating system called GNU/Linux.
Today Linux and GNU/Linux have come a long way from the early 1990's, although they're still mostly used by geeks.
by a thing June 12, 2005
An excellent operating system that is more stable than Microsoft's Windows. Good for server use, but not practical for the average (aka home or gamer) user since it isn't compatible with most programs.
Notably used by either people who do know what they're doing, or immature idiots who think they're "l337" because they spited "M$" out of money (and seemingly wrote 90% of the definitions on this word as well).
Notably used by either people who do know what they're doing, or immature idiots who think they're "l337" because they spited "M$" out of money (and seemingly wrote 90% of the definitions on this word as well).
by NeoChaos November 17, 2003
Linux Fanboy: Linux, enough said
Windows Fanboy: MS rules and Linux sucks because no one uses it
Macintosh Fanboy: I'm cooler than the both of you because my OS is shiny
Windows Fanboy: MS rules and Linux sucks because no one uses it
Macintosh Fanboy: I'm cooler than the both of you because my OS is shiny
by everybodyblows April 5, 2009
To break a Linux box, you will have to work at it..
To break a Windows box, you just have to work on it..
To break a Windows box, you just have to work on it..
by Son of Jorel January 3, 2004
Linux is a free (as in libre, not always as in gratis) kernel that, together with tools from the GNU project, forms a stable, high-performance, multi-user operating system.
Its advantages over Windows are mainly ideological; it's free, usually in both of the above senses of the word, and the license, the GNU GPL, prevents proprietary implementations from screwing you over (Linux "companies" sell support, not Linux itself, for this reason).
It's also much more stable than Windows, owing to its stricter memory management, access controls, and hardware abstraction policy, and its networking performance is better since it's really meant more for servers than for desktop usage. Linux has finer-grained access control at the user and device level, though to be fair, Windows has had Unix-style file permissions since NT. Reboot times for Linux, however, are measured in months, and the only reason you should ever need to reboot Linux is if you installed a new kernel.
The disadvantages of Linux compared to Windows are mainly issues of ease of use. Linux is hard compared to Windows, mostly because it tends not to detect certain devices. This is a circular problem, because the drivers tend to be written only for Windows to begin with. It also, despite what the makers claim, *does* require some work at the terminal in most cases, and this will scare away most Windows users who never worked with Dos and the 9x series. It shouldn't, because the terminal is much more powerful and easier to use than Dos ever was, but it does.
The other main issue is that, while there are a few hundred different flavors, referred to as "distros," most of them suck. There are a few big, well-supported distros, and many are based on them: RedHat, which is popular in the corporate world, Debian, which is minimalistic and tough by itself but forms the base for the popular Ubuntu, and Slackware, which is the oldest maintained distro and is closest to the "original" Linux philosophy. There are also a few oddballs like Gentoo, which is for experts only (forces you to compile *everything* but does the annoying work for you and gives you incredible performance), and Arch, which is a minimalist hybrid of Gentoo and Slackware.
Save yourself headaches: newbies should use Ubuntu, experts should use Gentoo or Slackware, purists should use Debian, and no one should use RedHat or any RedHat based distro unless you're corporate and need it, in which case you want CentOS (RedHat for free with no tech support). Just be prepared to get your hands a little dirty, and to search the web and your distro's forums for help. There is always, always an issue that pops up that will never be in the manual or installation docs.
Most of all, remember that Linux won't insult your intelligence, but it won't hold your hand either. You can't always breeze through a Linux install like you can with Windows (though Ubuntu and friends are changing that), but you will get a solid, stable, and working system. Linux rewards effort and inquisitiveness, and punishes laziness.
Its advantages over Windows are mainly ideological; it's free, usually in both of the above senses of the word, and the license, the GNU GPL, prevents proprietary implementations from screwing you over (Linux "companies" sell support, not Linux itself, for this reason).
It's also much more stable than Windows, owing to its stricter memory management, access controls, and hardware abstraction policy, and its networking performance is better since it's really meant more for servers than for desktop usage. Linux has finer-grained access control at the user and device level, though to be fair, Windows has had Unix-style file permissions since NT. Reboot times for Linux, however, are measured in months, and the only reason you should ever need to reboot Linux is if you installed a new kernel.
The disadvantages of Linux compared to Windows are mainly issues of ease of use. Linux is hard compared to Windows, mostly because it tends not to detect certain devices. This is a circular problem, because the drivers tend to be written only for Windows to begin with. It also, despite what the makers claim, *does* require some work at the terminal in most cases, and this will scare away most Windows users who never worked with Dos and the 9x series. It shouldn't, because the terminal is much more powerful and easier to use than Dos ever was, but it does.
The other main issue is that, while there are a few hundred different flavors, referred to as "distros," most of them suck. There are a few big, well-supported distros, and many are based on them: RedHat, which is popular in the corporate world, Debian, which is minimalistic and tough by itself but forms the base for the popular Ubuntu, and Slackware, which is the oldest maintained distro and is closest to the "original" Linux philosophy. There are also a few oddballs like Gentoo, which is for experts only (forces you to compile *everything* but does the annoying work for you and gives you incredible performance), and Arch, which is a minimalist hybrid of Gentoo and Slackware.
Save yourself headaches: newbies should use Ubuntu, experts should use Gentoo or Slackware, purists should use Debian, and no one should use RedHat or any RedHat based distro unless you're corporate and need it, in which case you want CentOS (RedHat for free with no tech support). Just be prepared to get your hands a little dirty, and to search the web and your distro's forums for help. There is always, always an issue that pops up that will never be in the manual or installation docs.
Most of all, remember that Linux won't insult your intelligence, but it won't hold your hand either. You can't always breeze through a Linux install like you can with Windows (though Ubuntu and friends are changing that), but you will get a solid, stable, and working system. Linux rewards effort and inquisitiveness, and punishes laziness.
Linux is about choice. That means you're free to use it, or not to use it, but it will always be here for you.
by Hazuki April 22, 2007
People who run Linux are doing the world a favour by giving Microsoft a reason to get their head out of their ass and actually write code.
by Joe Montmatre August 26, 2003
Incredibly stable OS which is completly free and can be changed in anyway and distributed freely. Often insulted by newbies or people with not enought patience to figure it out. Many different flavors of Linux.
Linux almost never crashes and works fast.
by linux July 11, 2003