What is Linux?

[Mikorist]

What the authors of the industrial organization of the twentieth century
can say about Linux:

1.What is Linux?
2.Why do some people insist on using Linux?
3.We do not honor our hardware warranty when you run Linux!
4.It's your fault for using Linux.
5.No matter what the problem is, it's your Fault.
6.hahahaha!!!

What is Linux?

Linux is a clone variety of Unix written by Linus Torvalds with assistance from a loosely-knit team of hackers across the Net. It aims towards POSIX compliance. It has all the features you would expect in a modern fully-fledged Unix, including true multitasking, virtual memory, shared libraries, demand loading, shared copy-on-write executables, proper memory management and TCP/IP networking. It is distributed under the GNU General Public License, developed originally for home PCs, but which now runs on practically every hardware platform available including PowerPC, Macintosh, DEC Alpha, Sun Sparc, ARM, Mainframes, and many others. Linux aims for POSIX compliancy to maintain maximum compatibility with other UNIX-like systems. With millions of users worldwide, Linux is probably the most popular UNIX-like OS in the world.



Why do some people insist on using Linux?

Linux is free from adware, trialware, shovelware, and bloatware. Running Linux is like watching the public TV network.A basic installation of Linux as an office desktop is often easier than installing Windows (depending on distribution selected).One thing that Linux can do that Windows can not, is run from a CD. To run Windows, it has to first be installed to your hard disk. Normally Linux also runs from a hard disk, but there are quite a few versions of Linux that run completely from a CD without having to be installed to a hard disk.While 40 Linux viruses exist and virus scanners such as Guarddog and Clam-AV do exist and are free of course.. The major source of threat to Linux systems at present seems to be exploits on browsers such as Firefox and Opera...48,000 new virus signatures were documented for Windows, compared to 40 for Linux. Whether or not you chose Linux for your computers, even if you're a rabid Bill Gates fan- you'll be using it in other ways - Internet servers, cell phones, handheld devices, watches and embedded devices of all kinds....

Open Source

Free software and open source are not synonymous. Free software is more of a political stance than an economic one: "free" refers not to price but to philosophy. Free software can be used and modified without restriction. In the proprietary, single vendor or non-free software world we know this concept as piracy, except where very liberal licenses apply.
Freedom to modify is a pillar of this philosophy. The responsibility accompanying that freedom comes in the form of the GNU Public License (GPL). The GPL states that distributing a product that uses free software within its core or periphery (derivatives of the GPL differ) requires the distributor or vendor to also distribute or make available the product source code so that others may enjoy the same freedom to use and modify.


"Name GNU is a hack. Because it's a recursive acronym. It stands for "GNU's Not Unix".

"Free Software generally does have a copyright.It does have an owner.And it has a license.It is not public domain.If we put the software in the public domain,somebody else would be able to make a little bit of changes and turn that into a proprietory software package,which means that the users would be running our software,but they wouldn't have freedom to cooperate and share.To prevent that, we use a technique called "Copyleft".
The idea of Copyleft is that it's "Copyright" flipped over.This software is copyrighted and we, the authors give you permission to redistribute copies,we give you permission to change,we give you permission to add to it.But when you redistribute it, it has to be under these terms,no more and no less..."

"I mean, clearly there were a lot of interesting applications on Linux, The killer app of Linux was undoubtedly the Apache web server.Essentially, Apache became the application that motivated Internet service providers and e-commerce companies to choose Linux over Microsoft's Windows.And Internet service providers really liked Apache because it allowed them to do a lot of different things that some of the commercial web servers didn't if you are an ISP and you would have 40,000 users and they all want their web site, is gonna be pretty important to you..."

From film REVOLUTION OS

What is a distribution?

A Linux distribution, often simply distribution or distro, is a member of the GNU/Linux family of Unix-like computer operating systems. Such systems are built from the Linux kernel and assorted other packages, such as the X Window System and software from the GNU project. Distributions optimized for size tend to use more compact alternatives like busybox, uclibc or dietlibc. There are over three hundred Linux distributions, all of which are implementations of the GNU/Linux operating system.Because most (if not all) of the kernel and supporting packages are some combination of free software and open source, Linux distributions have taken a wide variety of forms — from fully featured desktop and server operating systems to minimal environments (typically for use in embedded systems, or for booting from a floppy disk). Aside from certain custom software (such as installers and configuration tools) a "distro" simply refers to a particular assortment of applications married with a particularly compiled kernel, such that its "out-of-the-box" capabilities meets most of the needs of its particular end-user base.


Linux/Windows

Linux (small, fast, modular, open source code, modifiable, reliable, royalty free)
Windows (huge, sluggish, monolithic, closed source, unchangeable, "blue screen", expensive)

WINDOWS VISTA AERO VS LINUX UBUNTU BERYL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC5uEe5OzNQ

XGL Desktop for linux... The future is now!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vykigxsd0oo

And my favorite:

3D Desktop! TouchScreen and XGL on Linux
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQkSObRtw0o



Conclusion:

The very best thing about Linux, in my opinion, is the fact that you can boot the CD and try it out in a totally non-destructive way.
Linux is not not harder to use--Linux is just different--unique and simple.
The hardest part of moving someone from Windows to Linux is
mental--it takes time ...

If you wish Linux to be just exactly like Windows, you will probably be disappointed.

When I started using Linux, I really be prepared for it and i liked it.

"Never tell the truth to people who are not worthy of it." — Mark Twain;

or

"Tell the truth and run." — Serbian proverb.

[jmtjet]

That about sums it up.

[mattpg1]

Are you aiming for this to be a sticky?

[kage]

Yes, I'm being a little nit-picky, but I want to clarify something:

Linux is a clone variety of Unix written by Linus Torvalds with assistance from a loosely-knit team of hackers across the Net.

In 1991, Torvalds began to work on a non-commercial replacement for MINIX while he was attending the University of Helsinki, which would eventually become the Linux Kernel.

Linux was originally written by Linus Torvalds as a clone of Minix, not Unix.

Aside from that, this is a good topic, worthy of being stickied.

[Mikorist]

Originally Posted by kage

Yes, I'm being a little nit-picky, but I want to clarify something:



In 1991, Torvalds began to work on a non-commercial replacement for MINIX while he was attending the University of Helsinki, which would eventually become the Linux Kernel.

Linux was originally written by Linus Torvalds as a clone of Minix, not Unix.

Aside from that, this is a good topic, worthy of being stickied.

The UNIX I am talking about is XENIX which Microsoft licensed from AT&T in 1979.




XENIX used ideas from UNIX

SINIX used ideas from XENIX

MINIX used ideas from SINIX

LINUX used ideas from MINIX

There was a line of connection between Unix, Xenix, Sinix, Minix and, finally, Linux.

From: torvalds@klaava.Helsinki.FI (Linus Benedict Torvalds)
Newsgroups: comp.os.minix
Subject: What would you like to see most in minix?
Summary: small poll for my new operating system
Message-ID: <1991Aug25.205708.9541@klaava.Helsinki.FI>
Date: 25 Aug 91 20:57:08 GMT
Organization: University of Helsinki


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 (torvalds@kruuna.helsinki.fi)

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 :-(.

Because it's free of any MINIX code,

LINUX is not MINIX...

Unix??....Xenix??....Sinix??....Minix ??

Megamix ???

Linus never published any description of the internals of the kernel.

We don't know what the LINUX is...

LINUX is just different--unique and simple.

[jmtjet]

The UNIX I am talking about is XENIX which Microsoft licensed from AT&T in 1979.

This supports Steve Ballmer's claim that Linux is in violation of Microsoft's copyright. Which, I believe, prompted Suse and a couple of other distros to sign agreements with Microsoft for the use of the code.

[Mikorist]

Originally Posted by jmtjet

This supports Steve Ballmer's claim that Linux is in violation of Microsoft's copyright. Which, I believe, prompted Suse and a couple of other distros to sign agreements with Microsoft for the use of the code.

Well,
XENIX 386 - is the first 32-bit operating system - UNIX-like OS - for Intel 386 processor, SCSI and TCP/IP.
As far as I know, there's no violation.
Linux doesn't violate any of Microsoft's pattent.
The concept of the older UNIX-like OSes was however is used to influence on the
design lines and this is also quite usual in Microsoft developing...

It's certainly an interesting topic and I really don't want
to turn it into a serious argument.
Tell the truth and run...

[katei4]

Hi,
I want to know about risk factors in hacking in Linux

Thanks & Regards,
Kate
http://www.cybertechhelp.com/forums/
http://www.cybertechhelp.com/forums/
http://www.cybertechhelp.com/forums/

[kage]

Originally Posted by katei4

Hi,
I want to know about risk factors in hacking in Linux

Thanks & Regards,
Kate

Kate,

Linux is secure by design. All modern Linux distributions are set up by default to run the system as a "normal" user account, and only use the root (administrator) account for admin tasks. This step by itself greatly increases the security of a Linux system. If you always run your computer as a normal user, and your system is somehow compromised, the attacker only has normal-user permissions and can't really do anything to harm your system.

One of the biggest problems with Windows systems is that a file is executable based on its extension. If a program ends with ".exe" on Windows, it can be executed. On Linux, a file has to manually be set (chmod +x) to be executable, making it much hardware for malware to be automatically downloaded and executed on your system.

Viruses, trojans, and spyware that infect Windows systems cannot harm Linux systems. Since Windows and Linux are completely different, a virus written for Windows simply cannot run on Linux. While there are malicious programs that have been written for Linux, they are rather rare to come by and most have already been patched. Any modern Linux distribution will already have all the patches built-in.

Modern Linux distributions such as Fedora, Ubuntu, and Suse come with a built-in firewall to seal off ports from outside traffic.

So to answer your question, run a modern Linux distribution, always log in using a normal user account, only use the root account for admin tasks like installing software, always keep your system updated, and keep the built-in firewall turned on. Doing this won't make your system completely "hack proof," as no system facing the internet is completely protected, but it will greatly increase your security.

The best part is modern distributions such as Fedora, Ubuntu, and Suse do all of the above by default.

[Mikorist]

Originally Posted by katei4

Hi,
I want to know about risk factors in hacking in Linux

Thanks & Regards,
Kate

Here's my answer to that: Security on Linux

[One_of_a_Kind]

informative , logical , historical , ... excellent!

the least to be said ...

[smurfy]

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