The history of Linux, a brief guide to the world of tech

Oh Linux, not everyone knows how to understand your awesomeness. Not everyone gets your amazing characteristics and features. The half of the world misleads your excellence. 

Are you already judging our criteria?

We’re sure.

Don’t misunderstand us, we really don’t want to be one sided. 

We’re aware that Linux is not the best.

We just want to let you know, before start talking about the penguin, that there’s no such thing like a perfect operating system (OS). Choosing a software doesn’t involve the perfect features of a full package program. Instead, is more of a taste and personal functionality decision. In fact, the first question that we have to do before buying an OS, should be: does it works for what I have to do? From then on, selecting the one, means matching different OS features with our needs.

You may have judged the first paragraph of this article because you believe that your OS is better than Linux. If that’s the case, you might be losing the chance of buying the one that really fits your responsibilities. Forget what your heart feels about the operating system you use.

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Compare – be critical

Windows is not perfect. MacOS is not the best. Linux is not the greatest. And, there are many other OS that exits on the computer market.

In general, the one that you use, is the one that suits your tasks. If you want to buy the one that suits you best, you will have to know all of the programs, its functions, characteristics, pros, cons and more, to find out the right one.

As result, I don’t know about you reading this article, but we believe that Linux deserves -like every other program-, further consideration than the actual. All of the products that exist, deserve a chance to be known and proven.

Besides critics and hate, we´ll like to spread some good information by trying to make a rational and objective article about another brand, that has always been there, but never has being as popular as it´s sisters.

Bad reputation, is unfair and lead by disinformation. There is a lot of negative reviews around of Linux, that may have influenced your decision on acquiring another OS.

On this article, you will find a chance to know more about the famous penguin operating system, Linux.

What is Linux?

Before talking about the technical side of Linux, we have to explain the theory.

First, we need to make sure that the basis conceptualization is clear.

Everyone knows that Linux is an operating system that’s been around for a while – even before MacOS, that was released on 1995. It holds the essence of other OS like Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Mac OS X, with a different characteristic -that we’ll explain later.

Perhaps, in general, people doesn’t really know what’s an operating system – unless you’re some kind of computer engineer or that you have a job related with computers. By “knowing”, we refer to actually have the capability of explaining what it is.

The OS, is simply a software. An operating system, is in charge of managing all of your desktop or laptop hardware. It basically controls communication between the software and the hardware. And, you need it’s functions to keep the laptop alive.

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Key points

An OS, specifically Linux, is composed by the following parts:

  1. The kernel: this part is meant to be the heart of the whole system that manages the CPU, memory and other devices. Kernel is the one piece that we called Linux and is the “lowest” level of all the OS.
  2. The Bootloader: it manages the boot process in any Linux compatible CPU. This piece is the famous starting page that appears once we had turn on the CPU.
  3. Daemons: this piece comes into action after turning on the computer. Daemons, is not a lonely tool but all of the devices that comprised Linux; such as, the printer, calculator, schedule, calendar, and others.
  4. Graphical Server or X: subsystem that displays graphics on your screen.
  5. Shell: an original piece of the penguin. It’s basically a command process that allows you to control the computer by typing commands into the text interface. If your not someone related with codes and computers, you have just find the floor where people got scared of the penguin world, in the past; back then, people would had to learn some codes properly to successfully manage the OS. Nowadays, you don’t have to do this anymore.
  6. Desktop environment: the part where people interacts with the OS. Linux has a wide layout of environments to choose from; such as:  Unity, GNOME, Cinnamon, Enlightenment, etc. Additionally, each one of these environments have built-in characteristics, for the user; such as: file managers, configuration tools,games, etc. 
  7. Applications: everyone’s favorite part in an OS. Linux offers thousands of software to install and enjoy, but it doesn’t provide the full army. Nowadays, some Linux softwares, include application stores to simplify the finding process.   

Linux time line

Now that we actually know what is an OS, let’s get deep into Linux history.

Linux story started back in the early 90’s when the Finnish student Linus Torvalds, started a personal project of creating a free OS. On 1991, Linux kernel, was initially released and it hasn’t stopped growing since then.

The penguin origins, go back to early 70’s when the Unix operating system was implemented by Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie, from the AT&T Bell Laboratories (1969), released in 1970. And specifically, to their portable and modifiable programming language, called C. On which Linux kernel creator wrote his program.

On 1992 Linux distributions was created along with the relicensed GNU GPL, starting an era of unstoppable growing to Torvalds creation.

It wasn’t until 2007, until the GNU (General Public License), Linux free software license, was finally consolidated with GPLv3 released, marking this part of the story as a new programing adaptation era, for the OS.

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Gaining popularity

Also on 2007, Dell was distributing for the first time, laptops with preinstalled Ubuntu (Linux famous distribution base), improving its market.

But, is fair to say, that the penguin free software system, started it’s massification way before, with IBMs support on 1998; followed by Dell on 2000, year when Microsoft and Linux rivality got aggressive, until 2006 when peace was proclaimed by Microsoft and Novell, by the announcement of a cooperation that enhance better interoperability and mutual patent protection.

2011, was the year for Linux kernel consolidation on the new era, when Version 3.0 was released. A year later, Linux server market revenue exceeded the Unix market. Getting to the top, back in 2013, when Google’s Linux-Android, claim the big trophy of a 75% smartphone market share.

On 2015, latest Linux 4.0 arrived the game. Nowadays, Linux has tons of environments and is used almost anywhere.

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