What’s a GNU/Linux distribution?
By now, almost everyone who has a computer has heard about something called “Linux”. Usually, what they hear goes something like this—“Well, Linux is free, but it’s very difficult to use. Don’t try it unless you’re a computer expert”. There is also generally talk about how “Linux” is incompatible with equipment like digital cameras, printers, and games. In short, “Linux” is generally thought to be a free but experts-only operating system. Fortunately for those of us who aren’t computer experts, almost all of these “facts” about “Linux” are completely wrong.
Free as in what?
First, I’ll talk about the “free” part. You may have wondered why I’ve been putting quotation marks around the word “Linux”. The reason is that folks working on this operating system have a different idea about how they should be rewarded for their work. It’s hard work making a program as complicated as an operating system, and a great many talented people have put years of their lives into building, refining, and expanding this code. One of these individuals was Linus Torvalds, who created a kernel named Linux. A kernel is what helps your computer’s hardware (hard drives, motherboards, memory, and so on) communicate with your software (word processors, spreadsheets, and games). Without a kernel, your computer and all of your software would just be a pile of junk. However, a kernel by itself isn’t very useful, either. What Linus and other folks were able to do with the Linux kernel was combine it with a bunch of other very useful free software created for a planned operating system called GNU (Gnu’s Not Unix). In short, what people generally mean by the word “Linux” is Linus’ kernel combined with all of the GNU programs, which together function as an operating system. Now, for the same reason that Torvalds likes people to know the role he played in creating his kernel, Richard Stallman and all the GNU folks don’t want people to forget their work.
Ubuntu
Of these three, Ubuntu is the most popular at the time of writing.
SimplyMEPIS
SimplyMEPIS is another distro that makes it hard to mess up.
- Login or register to post comments
- Printer-friendly version
- 1336 reads
- PDF version
More in Tux Machines
- Highlights
- Front Page
- Latest Headlines
- Archive
- Recent comments
- All-Time Popular Stories
- Hot Topics
- New Members
digiKam 7.7.0 is releasedAfter three months of active maintenance and another bug triage, the digiKam team is proud to present version 7.7.0 of its open source digital photo manager. See below the list of most important features coming with this release. |
Dilution and Misuse of the "Linux" Brand
|
Samsung, Red Hat to Work on Linux Drivers for Future TechThe metaverse is expected to uproot system design as we know it, and Samsung is one of many hardware vendors re-imagining data center infrastructure in preparation for a parallel 3D world. Samsung is working on new memory technologies that provide faster bandwidth inside hardware for data to travel between CPUs, storage and other computing resources. The company also announced it was partnering with Red Hat to ensure these technologies have Linux compatibility. |
today's howtos
|
Recent comments
1 year 11 weeks ago
1 year 11 weeks ago
1 year 11 weeks ago
1 year 11 weeks ago
1 year 11 weeks ago
1 year 11 weeks ago
1 year 11 weeks ago
1 year 11 weeks ago
1 year 11 weeks ago
1 year 11 weeks ago