Christine Gonzales

Assignment: Ch.5 Linux Operating System

CRN 10061

July 5, 2009

Linux Operating Systems

In the 1960’s, the Unix operating system was visualized and it was first released in 1970. Because of its availability and portability, schools and businesses adopted, copied, and modified it. In 1983, Richard Stallman wrote the GNU General Public License (GPL) to create a free Unix-like operating system. During the early 1990s, there was almost enough software available to produce a free Unix-like operating system. But, the GNU kernel, named Hurd, and other operating systems did not concern software developers to use it in the 80’s.

In 1991, Linux Operating Systems was developed by Linus Torvalds. Torvalds attended the University of Helsinki in Finland and created Linux to access the operating systems at his university. Freax was the original name Torvalds had for his system, not Linux. It was not until his coworker, Ari Lemmke, who was in charge of the servers decided to name the program he was working on “Linux” because he disliked the name Torvalds. Linux is an independent operating system. Programmers from all around the world have volunteered to work together to improve it by sharing their modified code with each other through the Internet.

Linux Distributions are members of the family of Unix-like software distributions built on top of the Linux kernel. These distributions contain collections of software applications including word processors, electronic spreadsheets, media players, and database applications. Two of the many Linux distributions are Red Hat and Novell. They are the popular commercial distributions of Linux. Red Hat was established in 1993 and ahead in the Linux enterprise. Their operating system is called the Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). Novell is an operating system company and one of Red Hat’s main competitors. Their operating system is called SUSE Linux Enterprise.

Two ways in which users can obtain Linux distributions are to download it free from the Internet or purchase the product at participating retail stores. Linux distributions can be installed by using a source code or a binary package given by the distributor. It is easier to install Linux distributions using the package because it is faster to install. With the package, constant upgrading, surveying, and removing of software are included.

Linux offers various application and suites to their users. The two most popular applications/suites are OpenOffice and MPlayer. OpenOffice is a user suite that is recommended for all Linux users. It provides similar programs as Microsoft Office such as Calc which is an electronic spreadsheet like Microsoft Excel. Math is an equation editor that is able to correct equations from text documents. OpenOffice also has Draw, a program that allows users to create 2D, 3D, and photo-like images. Writer is the word processor of OpenOffice that is very much alike Microsoft Word. To make electronic presentations, Impress is the same as Microsoft PowerPoint. MPlayer is an application Linux users use as a multimedia player.

One advantage of using Linux is it less likely crash than Microsoft Windows. Linux is known as being safe to use because there is a smaller chance that users will obtain a virus or other security hazards. It is also easier to run Linux on older equipment. One disadvantage of Linux compared to Microsoft Windows is the gaming restrictions. The number of games Linux users could play is limited.