What is Linux?

 

When linux 1.0 was released to the world almost 25 years ago its model of free and open source software knocked down all of the walls that had previously been put in place by proprietary software giants like Microsoft in order to maintain control over the development and distribution of computer programs and as was said in a world without walls who needs windows and gates when using Windows its high degree of compatibility makes it fine for everyday use for many people especially gamers but since Windows is a proprietary operating system developers and users more or less have to work within a relatively closed software environment that places certain restrictions on what you can do anyone who is dealt with Windows Update or Microsoft DRM features knows what I mean Linux on the other hand has a completely open-source kernel the central part of the operating system that links your Hardware with applications meaning that it can be used freely for a purpose of whatever you want for tons of different use case scenarios etc these different versions of Linux are commonly called distributions or distros which provide different stacks of software tools and desktop environments all of which are tied to the Linux kernel that combine to form a complete operating system.

These distros can range from anything like Ubuntu or mint which are popular desktop distributions often use as alternatives to Windows to something like Android on your smartphone two versions of Linux found on supercomputers Linux is focus on security and stability compared to Windows which focuses more on ease of use as made Linux extremely popular for servers and other super critical applications Linux is also generally more lightweight and less resource heavy than Windows which is beneficial for home users who just want a very fast computing experience on a possibly low-end machine and even professionals running servers that require high efficiency as they can pick a distro tailored for them by being very light on stuff like eye candy and background processes even to the point of being just a command-line interface and while that all sounds great that doesn't mean that it's a great idea to just run home and migrate your home PC from Windows to Linux although a lot of work has gone into making desktop Linux distributions more user-friendly over the last 10 years there's still a pretty sharp learning curve if you've never used Linux before Linux offers a lot more granular control over your computer than something like Windows or Mac OS which actually does share a common ancestor with Linux being Unix but that's maybe something for a different day taking advantage of this granular control often requires a fair amount of technical knowledge even 

If you're running a simple system like something like a Raspberry Pi it can still be rather complicated and even distros that place a greater emphasis on ease of use do take some getting used to if all you've ever known is Windows or Mac for example most software isn't downloaded through a web browser and installed during Exe file like as it is in Windows but instead goes through a package manager which download software from large repository specific to each distribution kind of like an app store on your phone that might sound a little bit restrictive compared to the open nature of searching for Windows software on the web there's actually a wide variety of applications available through these package managers and tons of these are free programs continuing the Linux tradition of using open source code but what if you want to game this can admittedly be a challenge for a number of titles requiring you to run a Windows compatibility layer such as wine to even to get them to work at all the good news is that steam now features over 1,000 games that work on Linux just fine and the new steam OS is Linux based as well so trying to master the challenges that Linux presents in order to tap into its potential sounds like something that 

Linus Benedict Torvalds is a Finnish-American software engineer who is the creator and, historically, the main developer of the Linux kernel

You want to do check out some of the numerous free resources available online like Linux newbie guide to get additional technical info and figure out exactly how you'd like to customize it but if that sounds a little bit overwhelming and you're mostly drawn to Linux because of its infinitely cute penguin mascot tux you can download the completely open-source sewing patterns to make your own tux plushie and even though they've been in alpha since I believe 2004 you don't have to worry about recompiling the kernel. thank you guys for reading. If you like recompiling kernels and doing all that nerdy stuff, share the post, and if you want to read more of these post perks, the subscribe button, and I'll see you guys next time