What is Linux?

Hello everyone I will be so optimistic and neglect the fact that there are less than a dozen of people here so Hi !!
Linux, Linux, Linux! Even if you can’t see it Linux is everywhere : from the White House to the US Navy, Amazon, Google, Wikipedia, Virgin, Wall Street, IBM, NASA, Facebook even animation movie makers in DreamWorks. Shrek was made by Linux? well that’s funny! And now 52% of smartphones are running Linux, because -guess what- Android is Linux!

PS : click on images to enlarge

So what is Linux?

Linux is an Operating System just like  Windows or Mac OS or Unix. It was developed by the Finnish (from Finland) software engineer Linus Torvalds (Nope you’ve never heard of him, he’s not that famous jk!)

Hmm I see, then what’s the secret of Linux that makes it so perfect and adopted by many companies and governmental institutions?

What makes Linux a big deal is that it’s a free software (free here as in freedom it has nothing to do with cost) which means that everybody can modify and edit it and clean it from bugs. Thousands of people around the globe try everyday to improve Linux and make it better, faster and stronger. This criteria makes Linux so powerful and virus-free. In the other side of the river Windows and Mac OS have a limited number of engineers and developers to improve their systems and make them bugs-free.

You keep talking about companies and governments. But what about me as a personal user, can I use Linux?

Of course you can. However there are some things that you should keep in mind :
1- Not all hardware manufacturers support Linux (Nvidia for example) so you should check if your PC is Linux-compatible.
2- Linux is not like Windows/Mac you can’t do everything the graphical way (using a mouse) sometimes you should type some orders to the PC using a specific language and a specific program called Terminal.
3- Software programs compatible with Windows and Mac may or may not be available for Linux but there are a lot of alternatives.

That’s kinda’ odd you know. Why should I use Linux then?

Because Linux guarantees you full protection from viruses, system failures, crashes and death screens. It also can do everything Windows and Mac OS do. so It’s a complete and even a better alternative.

Seems legit, How can I get it? Is it free?

You get Linux by downloading it. But before that you should know that there are many versions of Linux called Distributions (or just Distros). Those distros have the same Linux kernel but different default softwares and graphic interfaces. Most of these distros are free but there are some that are not. When you choose the right distribution you go to its website and download the ISO file then burn in on a CD or create a live bootable USB (we’ll talk about that later in this blog). This is a list of major Linux distributions:

Many tips to choose your first Linux distribution are available here

Once I’ve downloaded it and install it, what should I do?

You should check if your PC is running well (duh!) then you should learn some commands to use the Terminal when it’s necessary. And then check for available softwares that you need.

What about Android? You said it is Linux too, can I use it on my PC?

Well Android is a special Linux distribution for mobile devices it was adopted by Google and sold to mobile phone manufacturers like Samsung, HTC, LG and Sony. That’s why it’s not meant to be on a PC. However there are some guys who developed a non-official version of Android called Android X86. It work pretty well on some PCs and with less performance on others so you can try it. Just remember it’s NOT an official version from Google.

Anything else?

I am using Ubuntu and this is how my desktop looks like. Kinda’ sexy huh!
Click on the image to enlarge

So This is what this article was about. I hope I was useful and see you next time with more things to know!
I LOVE YOU ALL ❤