Linux - What is it - where did it come from?

Linux, the brainchild of one Linus Torvalds seemed to come out of nowhere(Finland to be exact) and is making news worldwide these days. But it did was not always this way. Back in the days before mass-internet usage, instant messengers, before grunge had hit the big-time, a university student was working on a system. The system we know as Linux. From the original comp.os.minix thread, posted by someone from the Unversity of Helsinki, Finland.

Thus it begins...

Hello everybody out there using minix -

I'm doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won't be big and professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT clones. This has been brewing since april, and is starting to get ready. I'd like any feedback on things people like/dislike in minix, as my OS resembles it somewhat (same physical layout of the file-system (due to practical reasons) among other things).

I've currently ported bash(1.08) and gcc(1.40), and things seem to work. This implies that I'll get something practical within a few months, and I'd like to know what features most people would want. Any suggestions are welcome, but I won't promise I'll implement them :-)

Linus (EMAIL REMOVED)

PS. Yes - it's free of any minix code, and it has a multi-threaded fs. It is NOT protable (uses 386 task switching etc), and it probably never will support anything other than AT-harddisks, as that's all I have :-(.

Aftermath

The world would later come to know this man as Linus Torvalds, and the system(kernel) as Linux. Linux itself isn't what most people think of it. It is just the kernel. A collection of instructions that gathers data and information from programs and sends for processing. (View for information)

It wasn't until its combined use with GNU that Linux would become a fully functional desktop operating system. GNU itself had been trying to replace a long standing operating system, UNIX. It's name alone, GNU's Not Unix is more evidence of that. It's ideal was to produce something that was free. Not as in beer, but as in freedom. Free also of UNIX code. It's founders we're hackers in the original sense¹, trying to produce from scratch an OS. They had suceeded in replacing the mass-majority of functions within UNIX, but had failed on the kernel. A match made in heaven, GNU Linux was born. It's popularity slowly grew during the 1990's, but really boomed towards the end of the decade.

So, what's its purpose and function?

You know that brand new Tivo you have in your living room? Chances are it runs Linux. An estimated 70% or more of all websites online run Linux. Most newer cell-phones run Linux. Simply put, it is a hackers'¹ dream OS. It can be put on anything and everything with a little bit of knowledge.

Okay, but what has it done recently?

As previously mentioned it runs an estimated 70% of web servers, but it does so much more. In recent years it has seen a change from a geek or computer hobbyist-fueled elitism-only system to a more open setup. It has changed from a text-based to graphical via the X window system. It has seen a momentous gain in desktop usage, primarily through more user-friendly easier to setup distrobutions.

So which version should I use?

This is the age old question. nobody can really enforce you to choose any one over the other. It's just a matter of preference. It's been known to take people a few years to decide on a stable and reliable distrobution, or it could take you that first spin 'round. Do you want multimedia? Do you want web-browsing? Is eye-candy for you? Do you want support? All these things need to be taken into consideration before finally settling on one. It may not even be for you. We personally say don't let any one person force you into using one system over the other. Only switch from what you currently use if there is better or if there is better means of productivity for what you need. Whether it be distrobution x, that system from that one Redmond company in Washington's operating system, or that one fruit company's system. Use what you know most, use what you like, and use what you're comfortable with. The day it doesn't keep up to standards or has conflicts with your beliefs...then it's time to change. We'd hope you would choose our system, but we'll help you find a suitable one if not.

...and Liminali fits in where?

Well, nowhere yet.

We're hoping user-adoption will help spread the name throughout the community. As was said nothing should be forced, and as thus we won't force you to even try our system. If you don't like what you're using now though, and you want to give us a try then by all means download it and give it a go.

References - Resources

1. Hacker - n. -- A person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and how to stretch their capabilities, as opposed to most users, who prefer to learn only the minimum necessary.OR One who programs enthusiastically (even obsessively) or who enjoys programming rather than just theorizing about programming.
2. Timeline of GNU/Linux -- Used to collaborate info from comp.os.minix newsgroups.

Affiliates/Other sites I "own":

/home/Phoenix OS

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