Linux for Beginners

Even though Linux has been around for some time now. But it seems that there are still a lot of people who may have heard but do not really know what it is. Linux is a type of operating system for computers that is patterned after Unix. What has made it quite popular in the computing world is that it is a notable example of an open source software, a program that is offered and used for free and can be freely modified and redistributed by anyone.

Linux was initially developed by Linus Torvalds, from whom the Linux kernel was named from. He developed the initial code for Linux which was then built by contributions coming from different programmers and developers. As an operating system, Linux provides the interface that allows you to do certain tasks on your computer. It is built as a Unix-like operating system.

The advantage that people find in Linux is that it is basically free. The Linux OS can literally be downloaded online for free. Unlike proprietary OS software such as that of Microsoft Windows, Linux OS requires no fees for its use. Updates for the OS are also provided for free and the freely available source code can be modified and improved or enhanced by any programmer or software developer. Linux is licensed in GPL, the GNU Public License. This license gives anybody the right to change any Linux code and even redistribute it afterwards, with the provision that the code is also made openly available after redistribution.

Linux, because it is an open source software can also be used by any hardware vendors or manufacturers to run their machines without problems. Since the Linux kernel and other codes for the OS are freely available, hardware manufacturers and vendors can easily modify the Linux OS so that it can run effectively using its machine and without having the fear of being lambasted by any proprietary software owner for doing so.

Linux is also known to be versatile because of its scalability. The Linux OS can be made to run a small hand held personal digital assistant to the biggest and latest supercomputer. All it takes is adding required code or removing unwanted ones so that it can fit and function on different machines.