If you are going to switch to Linux for the first time, there are some things you should know. This manual contains important information to help you get started using it.

You will learn what Linux is, why you should use it, what distributions are, how to install them, how to use the terminal, how to configure the hardware, and many other key aspects.

Linux is the operating system that powers a multitude of systems, from light bulbs to weapons, from laptops to large data centers.

Everything works on Linux, from your phone to your smart refrigerator.

In a consumer environment, Linux is an alternative to commercial operating systems such as Windows.

Why use Linux instead of Windows?

There are many reasons why you should use Linux over Windows, and here are just a few of them.

  1. Linux OS is supported on older computers. While Windows XP will still run on older hardware, it is no longer supported, so there are no security updates. There are a number Linux distributions that are created specifically for old equipment and are regularly supported and updated.
  2. Certain Linux distributions and desktop environments are now more familiar to ordinary users computers than Windows 8 and Windows 10. If you like appearance Windows 7 why not try Linux Mint for example.
  3. The size of Windows 10 is huge. A typical Linux distribution is just over 1 gigabyte, although some may be as small as a few hundred megabytes. Also Windows requires at least bandwidth DVD level.
  4. Linux comes with free software, and you can modify and use this software as you see fit.
  5. Linux has always been more secure than Windows because there are very few viruses for it, although the Internet of Things has been under threat lately.
  6. Linux performs better than Windows in many ways, and you can squeeze every last drop out of it on older, limited hardware.
  7. Confidentiality. Windows regularly collects data from Cortana and search in general. While this is not a new thing, as Google does the same thing, you can be more than sure that Linux does not do this, especially if you choose a free distro.
  8. Reliability. When a program freezes on Linux, you can close it quite easily. When a program freezes on Windows, even when you try to start the Task Manager to close that program, it doesn't always work.
  9. Updates. Windows is very intrusive with its update policy. How many times have you turned on your computer to print concert tickets or other important information to see the update 1 of 450 installation screen?
  10. Variability. You can make Linux look, feel, and behave exactly the way you want it. With Windows, the computer behaves the way Microsoft thinks you want it.
    If you're still undecided, read this guide to help you decide if Linux is right for you.

Which Linux distribution should you use?

The first question to ask is "what is a Linux distribution?" It's just that the Linux kernel is like an engine. A distribution is actually a vehicle that houses an engine.

So which Linux distribution should you choose? Here are the main ones:

  • Linux Mint: Requires no advanced computer experience, easy to install, easy to use, and has a familiar desktop for Windows 7 users
  • Debian: If you are looking for a truly free Linux distribution with no proprietary drivers, firmware or software, then Debian is for you. An old man among distributions.
  • Ubuntu: a modern Linux distribution that's easy to install and use
  • openSUSE: a stable and powerful Linux distribution. Not as easy to install as Mint and Ubuntu, but a very good alternative nonetheless
  • Fedora: the most up-to-date Linux distribution with all new concepts included at the earliest opportunity
  • Mageia: rose from the ashes of the once great Mandriva Linux. Easy to install and use
  • CentOS: Like Fedora, CentOS is based on the commercial Linux distribution, Red Hat Linux. Unlike Fedora, it's built for stability
  • Manjaro: Based on Arch Linux, Manjaro strikes a great balance between ease of use and modern software
  • LXLE: Based on the lightweight Lubuntu distro, it is a fully functional Linux distro for old hardware
  • Arch The: rolling release distribution means you don't have to install new versions of the operating system because it updates itself. Harder for a new user to master, but very powerful
  • Elementary: Linux for people who like a Mac-style interface

You can read more about the best distributions for beginners in.

What is a desktop environment?

A typical Linux distribution has several components.

There is a display manager that is used to help you log in, a window manager that is used to manage windows, panels, menus, main interfaces, and applications.

Many of these elements are combined together to create what is called a desktop environment.

Some Linux distributions come with only one desktop environment (although others are available in the software repositories), while others have different versions of the distribution for different desktop environments.

The most common desktop environments include Cinnamon, GNOME, Unity, KDE, Enlightenment, XFCE, LXDE and MATE.

  • Cinnamon Is a more traditional desktop environment that is similar to Windows 7 with a bar at the bottom, menus, system tray icons, and quick launch icons.
  • GNOME and Unity are pretty similar. They are modern desktop environments that use the concept of launcher icons and dashboard-style displays to select apps. There are also core applications that integrate well with the general theme of the desktop environment.
  • KDE Is a fairly traditional desktop environment, but it has a huge number of features and a core set of applications that can be easily customized with a lot of settings.
  • Enlightenment, XFCE, LXDE and MATE- fairly lightweight desktop environments with panels and menus. They are all highly customizable.

How to connect to the internet

While internet connectivity is different for every desktop environment, the principle is the same for everyone.

  1. Somewhere on the panel is a network icon. Click on it and you will see a list of wireless networks.
  2. Click on the desired network and enter the security key.

The best system for web browsing

Linux has all the best browsers including Chrome, Chromium, Firefox and Midori.

There is no Internet Explorer, in other matters, who needs it? In the browser Chrome has everything you could possibly need.

Are there decent office suites for Linux?

There is no doubt that Microsoft Office Is a premium product and it is a very good tool that is difficult to replicate and surpass the qualities of this product.

For personal use and for small and medium businesses, you can argue that Google docs and LibreOffice are good alternatives and at lower cost.

LibreOffice comes with a text editor with most of the features you'd expect to see in text editor... It also comes with a decent spreadsheet that is also full featured and even includes a basic programming engine, although it is not Excel VBA compatible.

Other tools include presentations, mathematical calculations, databases and drawing packages, which are also very good.

How do I install programs on Linux?

Linux users do not install software the way Windows users do, although the differences are getting smaller and smaller.

Typically, if a Linux user wants to install a package, he runs a tool called a package manager.

The package manager accesses repositories that contain packages that can be installed.

A package management tool usually provides a way to find software, install software, keep software up to date, and uninstall software.

As technology advances, some Linux distributions introduce new package types that are self-contained just like Android apps.

Each distribution provides its own graphical tool. There are common remedies command line used in various distributions.

  • For example, Ubuntu, Linux Mint and Debian use a package manager apt-get.
  • Fedora and CentOS use a package manager yum.
  • Arch and Manjaro use Pacman.

You can learn more about installing applications on Linux from.

Linux Command Line

No matter what Linux users say, it is the need to use the terminal that prevents the system from becoming massively popular. However, this is a useless discussion.

While it is helpful to learn the basic Linux commands(the same can be said for DOS commands in Windows), there is no need to do this.

The first thing you need to know is, of course, how to open a terminal, and of course there are many ways to do this.

Why is it called a terminal? Terminal is actually a short name for a terminal emulator, and it takes us back to the time when people logged in on physical terminals. Now, all you need to know is that the terminal is where you enter Linux commands.

Once you open a terminal, you should really be good at it. First you need to know about the rights. You can read more about this in.

The team that users usually recognize early on is the team sudo, but don't start mindlessly typing commands with sudo without understanding what she is doing, because all this can end in disaster.

While you are working in the terminal, you should also understand about switching users using the command su.

Essentially, the command sudo allows you to elevate privileges so that you can run commands as a different user. By default, the other user is the user root.

Command su switches the context so that you are running as the specified user. A number of commands can be executed on behalf of this user.

Some more Linux facts

  • Live Linux DVD or USB lets you run Linux without installing on HDD... This allows you to test your Linux disk before switching to it, and is also good for the casual user.
  • Each Linux distribution is installed with its own installer, which is a program that helps you configure and install Linux.
  • When a user installs Linux, he can either install it on a single system, or install it along with Windows.
  • Linux takes the lead when it comes to playing audio files. There are dozens of great sound apps and you can choose one or more that you like.
  • Unfortunately, there is no Outlook on Linux.
  • The great thing about Linux is that you can make it look and feel just the way you want it.
  • Each Linux desktop environment works a little differently, and therefore it will take some time to get to know all the bases.

Summary

In this guide, we told you what Linux is, why you should use it, what Linux distributions are and how to choose from them, how to try Linux, how to install it, how to set up Linux, how to navigate Linux, talked about the best applications, how install applications and how to use the command line.

This should give you a good foundation to move forward.

Found a typo? Select the text and press Ctrl + Enter

There are many types of operating systems. One of them is the Linux operating system. What is this operating system? Where is it used? How does it work?


How it differs from operating systems Windows family? What are Linux distributions? We will try to find answers to these and other questions in this review.

Linux: what is it

Linux is an operating system in which the user has a wide choice of software that will be installed on it. In this operating system, you can choose between several types of desktops and a dozen shells for the command line, which, incidentally, is called the terminal and plays a rather important role. Due to the fact that this operating system is designed to run several programs at once, it is not susceptible to failures.

No program can be launched by default without the knowledge of the user, so it is very difficult to come across a virus written for Linux. If they infect computers, it is only because the user himself launched a suspicious application. Samples of this system can be operated via USB or optical drives.

Linux: a history of development

The name of this operating system is not translated in Russian. It is named after its pioneer founder, Linus Torvalds. He presented his creation to the public in 1994. The development of the system began back in 1991. Due to the fact that this operating system was open source and anyone could modify it, so it has followers all over the world. Various companies that release paid distributions are beginning to use the developments.

At the same time, whole communities of developers have sprung up, which on a voluntary basis create and distribute their own assemblies. As of 2016, there are about a dozen popular versions of Linux operating systems. What does this state of affairs mean? This means there is serious competition and diversity. In addition to the popular versions, less common ones are also used, which are designed to perform a certain range of tasks. If you are interested in the Russian version of the Linux operating system, then it is worth noting that downloading it today is not a problem. For other versions, there are localizers that can translate at least some of the designations.

Linux and Windows: differences

At first glance, these operating systems have serious differences. However, in reality, this is not entirely true. There are differences, but to see them, you need to look a little deeper. We will focus on the operating room Linux system, but since we will be comparing with Windows, we will have to describe this OS as well. We will consider the file system, graphical shell, system configuration, scope. At the end of the article, let's pay a little attention to distributions.

File system

First of all, it should be noted that there are no hard drives in the Linux operating system in the usual sense. What can this state of affairs speak of in the first place? Physical disks and logical partitions will be saved, here they will be represented by directories. The OS connects to some folder, everything that will be created will go into it. The work can only be carried out with the files that are in it. The main folder is called the root folder. It is denoted by the sign /. User files are usually stored in the / home / username / folder. The location can be changed if desired.

Graphical shell

After using the Windows operating system, at first, moving to the Linux operating system may seem inconvenient. However, this is only true when using a terminal. There are graphical shells with which you can work with the familiar interface. The terminal is used either by very advanced users or on servers. The graphically designed shell is suitable for all other users who do not want to remember the exact catalogs of information. Thus, we can say that the Linux operating system can appear in various forms. There are several options for customizing your desktop. The graphic design counts in hundreds of variations.

Configuration

In the operating room Windows system this information located in the system registry. It is a kind of database. It is required so that the programs launched in the operating system of the program are correctly configured at the first boot and at the beginning of work. In the event that the registry is damaged, only a complete reinstallation can help. However, this also has a definite advantage: everything is in one place. In the Linux operating system, the developers decided to take a slightly different path. In this OS, each program is the owner of a separate configuration file, and maybe even several.

These files can be viewed and edited in an arbitrary text editor. If there are a few more files, this has its advantages. If one of them is damaged, only a part of the operating time will be lost. In the worst case, only the program will have to be reinstalled. In addition, if the user wants to change the computer, he does not have to start all over again. He can simply copy the necessary files between machines, directly or using media. But what if the operating system was damaged? This is another important advantage of the Linux operating system.

The OS needs to be reinstalled and you need to perform it. However, the file settings will not disappear after completing this process. However, there is one small drawback: each program has its own configuration file format. You will need to understand them well before editing anything.
Applications

We have already talked about the Linux operating system, and how it differs from the usual Windows operating system. Today we will pay attention to the areas of its application. Alas, it will not find application everywhere. Linux, be it an office or home workstation, is close to ideal. The thing is that there are many created or ported games for this OS. There are also stand-alone programs that run complex engineering programs or graphics packages like Adobe.

With the help of emulation, this problem can be easily solved in most cases. However, not all users require a computer that can solve specific problems. Let's take a look at the list of features of this operating system. The Linux operating system allows you to compose office documents, process texts, create spreadsheets. It is also possible to view and edit photos and images. You can watch videos and listen to music. The system can even play the simplest games. It is possible to carry out communication processes via the Internet.

It should be noted that in this regard, the operating system "Linux" is significantly superior to its competitor. Linux is convenient for programming. The user can easily explore the Internet space. It is also convenient to remotely manage any operating system. E-mail and various messaging programs are available here. File exchange is quite convenient.

About distributions

If you want to install a Russian version of Linux on your computer, then it's worth talking a little about distributions. The user has the ability to choose language and geographic focus. In addition, with the help of this operating system, you can seriously engage in language learning. But now we are talking about distributions. The main difference is that the programs are located in file system... This is not to say that one distribution is more convenient to use than another.

Everything here will depend on the range of tasks to be solved. You can use a version in which it is convenient to do programming, but there is weak Internet support. This option is suitable for those users who need to concentrate on work instead of being constantly distracted by the Internet. There are also versions that allow you to adjust the power in the best way. This makes it possible to get maximum performance. In general, there is plenty to choose from, you just need to dwell on one version or another.

Traditionally, at the end of each year, the CRN editors name the 25 best "captains" of the US IT business. In 2004, this list includes the most entrepreneurial channel leaders, executives from a number of leading vendor companies, as well as the people who are the idea generators, visionaries who make their companies grow and thrive even in difficult times. The first on this list was Linus Torvalds, whose efforts the Linux project gained unprecedented power in 2004.

Linus Torvalds is neither the CEO nor the chairman of the board. He does not have the status of a leader. It wasn't until 2003 that he first agreed to take a paid position in the Linux industry he had created.

But, according to CRN, it is Torvalds, a 34-year-old programmer from Finland and the creator of the Linux kernel, who deserves the title of the most influential leader in 2004. He earned this title after almost 15 years of selfless work on his brainchild. The past year has been a watershed for Linux and for the entire open source community. And Torvalds played an extremely important role in this.

The creation of the Linux 2.6 kernel took this OS to the next level, making it suitable for enterprise use, which forced Microsoft, Sun Microsystems and other OS vendors to radically rethink their sales models.

Much has changed in Torvalds' life recently: he finished work on the Linux 2.6 kernel and for the first time received official status in the Linux developer community, becoming an employee of the Open Source Development Labs (open source software development labs, OSDL). The organization is vendor neutral and has been initiated by IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Computer Associates International, Intel and NEC.

Torvalds now has a position and a calling card that confirms his official status. But all this did not affect his usual way of life. Torvalds' departure from microprocessor company Transmeta and the OSDL allowed him to devote full time to developing the Linux kernel and to his family as he works from home.

“Initially, I planned to take a year off from Transmeta at my own expense - to focus only on working on version 2.6 and not be distracted by anything else,” says Torvalds. "The OSDL position has proven to be a great way to keep health insurance, get paid, and remain independent from the providers."

For the open source community, this event played an important role. Linus' decision to gain official status at a difficult time for Linux developers - during a period of sharp criticism of open source and constant reviews, the reason for which was the lawsuit of the SCO Group against IBM - instilled in his followers confidence in the future. This once again proves Torvalds' enormous influence on the fate of Linux.

Last June, Linus left California with his wife Tove and three daughters (three, six, and seven years old) and settled in a quiet suburb of Portland, Oregon. He lives in a new house, furnished quite simply, without frills, with elements of Danish Art Nouveau. Torvalds does not attach much importance to clothes either: he greeted the crowd of photographers who violated his privacy in frayed jeans. He seems to be amused by all the excitement around him.

Linus's home office has separate entrance at the back of the house, there is a small kitchen and shelves for books not yet filled to capacity. The office windows overlook the backyard, where Torvalds is building a toy house for his daughters. Further, a view of the forest opens. In this environment, which is not disturbed by any business problems or office routine, a sacred rite takes place - work on the Linux operating system.

Usually Linus sits in front of the monitor and, like a child, plays the keyboard - almost like in 1991, in Helsinki, when he was just conceiving the kernel of his OS. But today Torvalds conducts a worldwide orchestra of thousands of developers and piece together a masterpiece that undermines the entire software establishment, painfully hits Sun, revives IBM, and makes even Microsoft question its own immortality.

“Now, thanks to Torvalds' efforts, Linux is the most successful project in the open source world. It defies the foundations of the software industry, ”says the lead developer of another successful open source project.
“Linus is an example of how to establish yourself as a serious opponent of the strongest players in the industry by skillfully managing the developer community and fully dedicated to his cause. He has shown the way for many professional open source developers. It was thanks to him that JBoss began to work in this direction, ”says Mark Fleury, general manager of JBoss, a developer of the J2EE application server.

Eric Raymond, author of The Cathedral & the Bazaar, an open source tract, believes that Torvalds' talent and organizational skills allowed Linux to not only survive, but flourish, contrary to expert predictions. “Linus has an amazing sense of purpose. He has resisted immoderate ambition that has ruined more than one project of this magnitude, says Raymond. - An even more important factor was the introduction of a decentralized code development model. It existed before Torvalds, but he managed to systematize it. "

For Torvalds, this work is simply a favorite thing: having all the rights to dispose of the Linux trademark, he does not receive a penny from them. This is paradoxical for an industry that breeds billionaires: having made a real revolution in the software business, you have absolutely no interest in the business.

“I don't think I could be the Bill Gates of this decade,” says Torvalds. - To do this, you need to stand at the very origins of a new technical direction. OSes are not new for a long time. Perhaps even more important to have a commercial streak. And I have it? Yes, I least of all think about business. "

For all his modesty, Torvalds did a job that revived the stale OS market and made society think about the philosophical and social aspects of the question of how and for whom software products are created. Many representatives of the open source community believe that software is one of the benefits of civilization, like electricity, and therefore should not belong to a handful of capitalists, but the entire society and be used for the benefit of society. There are also radicals who view the growing competition between Linux and branded operating systems as a struggle between good and evil, and Torvalds is considered the liberator of the world from the slavery of Microsoft Windows.

However, Linus sees it very differently. “I don't have a philosophical view of open source. I am more of a pragmatist in this regard. I truly believe that collaboration and open knowledge sharing results in better quality development. But sometimes, even with this style of work, you have to resort to licensing, because there will always be people who can calmly appropriate someone else's work. The idea of ​​the open exchange of knowledge can be called "philosophy", but such an exchange actually exists, says Torvalds. “This is what distinguishes science from alchemy or witchcraft. I think those who do not believe in this simply do not want to take off their blinders. "

Linus's passion for coding makes him the number one open source developer.

“Linus is not only a brilliant programmer: he has good taste,” says Dirk Hondel, director of Linux and open source strategies at Intel and one of the first Linux kernel developers almost from the project's inception in 1991. “Torvalds finds simple and reasonable ways of solving problems, he knows how to "put everything on the shelves." He makes complicated things simple. In my opinion, this is the main difference between an excellent programmer and a good one. "

Andrew Morton, Torvalds' right-hand man and number two developer on the Linux project, is today also responsible for the Linux kernel in the OSDL. He says that Torvalds "holds the bar high", and this is also the key to the success of the entire project. “He managed to achieve a state where everyone works without haste and in equal conditions. There is a self-organization of the entire community and the distribution of roles among its members ... when no personal differences can seriously harm the whole project, ”says Morton.

This is no easy task, says Alan Cox of Red Hat, one of the key Linux developers. “Linus has two strong character traits: he is honest and he does not insist on his point of view if it turns out to be wrong,” says Cox. -Torvalds is able to lead, he has great intuition when choosing technical solutions and a reasonable approach to working with people. It is known that leading programmers is like “herding a herd of cats”. But Linus does a great job with it, without prejudice to anyone's interests. "

Torvalds is calm and natural, he is practically not interested in industry-wide problems, but for all his flexibility he always has his own point of view and is not afraid to express it aloud. He openly criticizes Microsoft Windows code, and describes SCO as a weakening company that takes credit for the credit.

Torvalds is proud of the Linux 2.6 kernel, which was finalized in December 2003. This version is ready for enterprise use. In terms of performance, reliability and scalability, it is not inferior to commercial operating systems. It is suitable both for working with corporate applications and for any tasks related to processing large amounts of data. Torvalds is proud of the formal search procedure he developed in conjunction with Morton, which makes it easier to update and fix the OS kernel.

At the same time, Linus prefers to keep a safe distance from any commercial and legal issues, says Stuart Cohen, CEO of OSDL. “He has absolutely no interest in being a senior advisor or vice president of technology,” Cohen said. - Torvalds already has enough to do. We try not to overload him, giving him complete freedom - he is free to do what he is interested in. "

Torvalds doesn't like to be in the spotlight, but participates in industry events from time to time. Trying to be extremely precise in everything - both in creating the code and in defining his own role - Linus calls himself the main technical leader, not the main architect, since he does not write himself so much as supervises the work of other developers. And he is always ready to pay tribute to the programmers who played a prominent role in the development of open source, including the authors of the C language and Unix OS at Bell Labs - Brian Kernighan, Dennis Ritchie and Ken Thompson.

Torvalds does not consider himself a hero, but according to his friends, he is far from the worst role model. Hondel recalls how Torvalds was preparing to give a speech at the LinuxWorld Expo one day, but suddenly disappeared just before entering the stage. Panic and confusion seized, but Torvalds' wife, who often travels with him with her daughters, intervened, and calmed him down, saying that he had run to the car for diapers.

This is all very typical of Torvalds, says Hondel. Despite world fame, Linus is completely devoid of consciousness of his own greatness and does not walk surrounded by a retinue of assistants, like many celebrities. “Torvalds is a madman, worse than that - he is an outstanding madman. But, fortunately, despite this, he is an absolutely normal person and a good friend, says Hondel. “It is enough to see him once with the children - and you understand that he remains what he always was - just a good guy.”

When people say “Linux,” they usually mean a group of operating systems based on Linux. Although, in fact, Linux is only the kernel of the operating system, and various other tools and libraries of GNU projects and other resources are used to develop a complete operating system. In addition, more and more developers are using Linux to develop and run mobile applications; Linux plays a key role in the development of devices such as Chromebooks (portable devices running the Chrome operating system, which uses a hybrid of the Linux kernel and services developed by Google as its kernel).

Linux became popular for the following reasons:

  • relevance of distributions and active support from developer communities;
  • the ability to run on a wide variety of equipment;
  • low resource requirements;
  • the ability to install programs from existing repositories.

But the list of reasons, of course, is not limited to these; there are not only practical but also ethical reasons. For example, many developers see Linux as an expression of openness, self-expression, and accessibility.

Development history

Linux has its roots in two other projects: Unix and Multics who set out to develop a multi-user operating system.

What is Unix?

Unix is ​​a collection of cross-platform, multi-user and multitasking operating systems.

We can immediately say that at the moment Unix-systems are one of the most important historical operating systems. The influence of Unix extended to programming languages: the C language was developed during the development of Unix systems.

Unix was developed by the Bell Laboratories Corporation - in 1969 they showed the first Unix system. The further, the more popular Unix systems became - in the 70s they began to be installed on computers in educational institutions.

When creating Unix, the developers set themselves three main goals:

  1. Using the minimum number of functions, keeping it simple.
  2. Generality: The same methods and mechanisms are used in different cases.
  3. Combining programs to solve problems, not developing new programs from scratch.

As for the distinctive features of Unix, these are:

  1. Almost constant use of the command line.
  2. Using pipelines.
  3. System configuration through the use of simple (often text) files.

Unix has its own philosophy. Programmer Douglas McIlroy, who developed the pipeline in Linux, defined the following rules:

Write programs that do one thing and do it well.

Write programs that work together.

Write programs that support text streams because it is a generic interface.

One of the problems affecting Unix is ​​the presence of different versions and many programs that developers wrote for their needs; due to poor compatibility, programs running on one version of Unix might not work on machines running on other versions. In the end, it was decided to create a common document that would indicate the standards that developers must follow.

In 1983, the creation of GNU (GNU's Not UNIX), a Unix-like operating system, was announced. This happened under the influence of the idea of ​​the founder of the project, Richard Stallmann, about the need to create a free operating system and open source software in general.

Richard Stallmann also founded the free software movement and formulated four rights that a user should have: he can run the program for any purpose, he can study the programs and modify them according to his needs, he can distribute the program to help others, and he can publish improving the program to help the community as a whole. All this primarily meant that the source code of the program should be available to everyone.

It was this thought that inspired Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux, to begin work on his operating system in 1991.Linux, like GNU, is a Unix-like system, that is, a system influenced by Unix.

In the future, it is the GNU / Linux system that will become the system that is now called simply Linux.

What are Multics?

Multics - or Multiplexed Information and Computing Service - is one of the earliest operating systems to implement a flat storage model and clearly separate the concept of files (segments). The creation of Multics began in 1964. Developers from Bell company worked on the system Laboratories - in a few years, some of the developers will start working on the creation of Unix.

Multics was developed in order, firstly, to enable a large number of users to use computer resources at the same time; second, to enable users to share data; thirdly, to provide a good speed of work with data.

However, the main computational tasks were not achieved with the release of the first version of the system, and Bell Laboratories shifted its interest to another project, which resulted in the birth of Unix.

Linux history

The history of Linux begins in 1991, when the Finnish programmer Linus Torvalds began developing the operating system kernel for his computer. He posted his developments on the server, and this became a key event in the history of Linux. First, dozens, then hundreds and thousands of developers supported his project - by joint efforts, a full-fledged operating system was born.

As already mentioned, Linux has been significantly influenced by the Unix system, even from the name. However, initially the project was called Freax - from the words “free” (free) and “freak” (strange), but later the name was changed to a hybrid of the name of the creator (Linus) and Unix.

The emblem of Linux is Tux, a penguin drawn in 1996 by programmer and designer Larry Ewing. However, the idea to use the penguin was invented by Linus Torvalds himself. Now Tux is a symbol not only of Linux, but of free software in general.

The first official version of Linux 1.0 came out in 1994; the second version was released in 1996. The Linux trademark was registered a year earlier, in 1995.

From the beginning to this day, Linux has been distributed as free software under the GPL. This means that any user can see the source code of the operating system - and not only see it, but also modify it. The only condition is that the modified, modified code must also be available to everyone and distributed under the GPL license. This is important because it allows developers to use the code and at the same time not be afraid of problems due to copyright.

Linux owes much of its success to GNU: at the time Linux was released, there were already many free redistributable utilities of this project that could be used with the developed kernel.

In fact, Linux is still the kernel of a Unix-like operating system that performs various low-level tasks. At the same time, the GNU Project needed a kernel - Linus Torvalds' development was very timely.

Thanks to its flexibility, Linux is now used on many different devices, from computers to servers and mobile devices.

Popular Linux distributions

A Linux distribution is a definition of an operating system that uses the Linux kernel and that can be installed on a user's machine. Distributions usually contain not only the kernel and the operating system itself, but also useful applications: editors, players, database tools and other software.

That is, as mentioned at the beginning of the article, a Linux distribution is an operating system that consists of a Linux kernel and utilities that are developed within the framework of GNU.

The number of existing Linux distributions exceeds 600 varieties, more than 300 of which are constantly being improved and updated.

Ubuntu - one of the most common distributions, easy to install and intuitive to use. Great for personal computers, laptops and servers. Developed and sponsored by Canonical Ltd but has strong support from the free community as well. The most popular operating system for web servers.

Debian is another popular GNU / Linux distribution that has had a significant impact on the development of all GNU / Linux operating systems in general. The main features of Debian: ample opportunities, the presence of many repositories, high quality versions - this is the most stable distribution of all the existing ones.

Linux Mint

Linux Mint is a distribution based on Ubuntu and Debian. Linux Mint has a beautiful and user-friendly design and will suit even novice users. Therefore, it is often installed on home computers in order to have a simple and convenient system. The distribution kit has support for various multimedia formats, including proprietary programs (Adobe Flash), so it is well suited for working with multimedia.

Manjaro is a distribution based on Arch Linux. Thanks to the large number of preinstalled programs (for example, for office work), it is quite beginner-friendly, but at the same time it has the ability to fine-tune, many packages, and is generally stable.

Arch - a powerful distribution based on the principles of simplicity, modernity, pragmatism, flexibility and the idea that the focus should be on the user. However, the principle of simplicity does not apply to the use of the system, but to its internal organization (principles of KISS and Unix-way). Therefore, Arch is designed for advanced users who can configure and install the utilities they need on their own.

In January of this year, the FAS admitted that Microsoft dominates the market of operating systems (OS) for personal computers (PCs) in Russia. According to the data of 2015, which FAS operated, 95.6% of desktops and laptops had Windows. Apple held 2.5% of the market, but its Mac OS is not easy to install anywhere other than Mac computers. Microsoft's real rivals, the most serious of which were Linux, had only 1.9% of the market.

It would seem that the project to create a free OS has failed. In fact, he is rapidly conquering the world. "A lot of people don't even know they are using Linux," said its creator, Finn Linus Torvalds, in an interview with Linux magazine. Pick up your smartphone - if it's Android, it's built on the Linux kernel. Climb the sites of giants like Google, Amazon, Facebook or some small obscure companies - they use Linux. Linux powers the International Space Station, powers most supercomputers, and was taken over by the New York Stock Exchange in 2007. Tens of thousands of programmers around the world work for free on the continual improvement of the free system.

Employee Microsoft once told Torvalds that his portrait was used in their office as a darts target. Steve Ballmer, while he was the CEO of Microsoft, publicly attacked Linux. It is unlikely because she was indifferent to him. After leaving, he admitted in an interview with Fortune: Linux poses an increasing threat to Windows and is already "looming in the rearview mirror." Ballmer's successor, Satya Nadella, went the other way: he launched the Microsoft Loves Linux initiative to adapt software to each other.

But Apple, on the contrary, at the end of last year banned the installation of Linux and other operating systems, except for Mac OS and Windows 10, on its new computers. And before that, Steve Jobs offered Torvalds to become one of the developers of the Mac OS and introduce into the process the same unusual development principles that Linux has. But the Finnish programmer refused. “I think [Jobs] was pretty surprised that his argument about Apple's market share didn't work,” Torvalds recalled.

He has his own views on what is open source software and what is his role in the computer world, Torvalds. He created software that is free and on which he did not expect to earn a cent (though he ended up making millions). But even when the money was tight in the late 1990s, Torvalds turned down the $ 10 million he would have received for joining the board of directors of one of the newborn Linux companies.

In January of this year, Torvalds launched the development of the 5th version of the Linux kernel. “The change in the number does not mean something special. If you need an official reason - I ran out of fingers and toes, so "4.21" turned into "5", - he is quoted by the InternetUA.

Mesmerized by the calculator

Linus Torvalds was born on December 28, 1969 in Helsinki and should have become a journalist - like almost all of his relatives. My father was a radio journalist, my mother was an editor at a news agency, my uncle worked on Finnish television, my grandfather was the editor-in-chief of a newspaper, and my sister, an employee of a news agency, simultaneously opened her own translation bureau, specializing in the translation of news reports.

A family legend says that Linus's great-grandfather, journalist and writer Ernst von Wendt, fought for the Whites in 1917 and was captured by the Reds. Father Niels, on the other hand, was an ideological communist. Some children were even banned from playing with Linus, and he himself was teased at school because of his father's radicalism. When the parents divorced, the children did not notice it too much: the father lived in Moscow for a long time.

A rare exception to the family profession was the maternal grandfather Leo Waldemar Ternqvist, professor of statistics at the University of Helsinki. The grandson really enjoyed watching him work on a calculator. Unlike modern ones, those calculators needed time to calculate, and they blinked lights. The sight fascinated young Linus. In 1981, instead of a calculator, my grandfather bought the first computer, the Commodore VIC-20.

The rarest surname

In the biography “Just for Fun. The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary "(Moscow: Eksmo-press, 2002) Linus Torvalds, who belongs to the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland, talks about the origin of his surname:" Father's grandfather, Torvalds<...>made it himself, using his middle name as an improvised material. At birth, he was named Ole Torvald Alice Sachsberg. He was born without a father (Saksberg is his mother's maiden name) and then received the surname Karanko from the man my great-grandmother had married. Farfar (as the Finns call their paternal grandfather - Vedomosti) did not like his stepfather so much that he changed his surname: he added the letter "c" to the name Torvald to give the surname a more solid - as it seemed to him - sound. The name Torvald means "the domain of Thor." It would be better if he created the surname from scratch, and did not engage in alterations: the addition of "s" deprives the word of its original meaning and confuses both Swedes and Finns, who cannot understand how to pronounce this surname. It’s not the Torvalds who want to write it, but the Thorwalds. There are only 21 Torvalds in the world, and we are all relatives. We all face this family problem. "

Torvalds recalls that he was not an outcast at school and was quite dexterous - he was willingly taken on the team in the Finnish version of the bouncers. But at the same time he was a typical nerd: "He looked like a beaver, wore glasses, dressed tastelessly, most of the time my hair looked bad, and on other days it was terrible." Unsurprisingly, he became interested in the computer. This craze did not go away as he got older. Because of the Finnish weather, the country has nothing to do but program, have sex or drink, Torvalds joked. With the second, he did not work out very well - hackers in those years had not yet become fashionable, he did not particularly like to drink. It remains to write the codes.

Computer investment

When grandfather passed away, his computer passed to Linus by default. Then he bought Sinclair QL. The family did not boast: Torvalds recalls how his mother periodically pledged the only value - a share of the Helsinki Telephone Company (issued to each owner of a phone) worth about $ 500. Having become famous, he will make the only exception for this company and will enter its board of directors.

In 1990 Torvalds entered the University of Helsinki. He bought a computer with a 386 Intel processor, for which I had to get into a loan for several years. It was worth it: it was a powerful machine for its time.

The university had a Unix operating system. On Torvalds's computer - the free Minix OS. Torvalds did not like how she connected from home via a modem to the university network, nor how she worked with the hardware of his computer. For example, Minix was designed for 16-bit processors, while Intel 386 was 32-bit.

Torvalds has written several programs to solve these problems. But they required other programs: for example, his decision to work with the institute's network did not know how to write files to disk. In the end, so many additional functions were created that Torvalds realized: he had a replacement for Minix in five minutes. But he still worked with Minix until he accidentally messed it up: he wrote a command that damaged the hard drive in the place where the OS was written. Then Torvalds began to use his Linux as the main OS.

Free software ideologues

It cannot be said that Torvalds created an operating system from scratch. He created the core of the system, that is, what connects programs with the hardware of the computer and allows them to work. This is a base on which you can hang many different add-ons. There is no one Linux operating system similar to Windows 10 - there are many operating systems based on the Linux kernel, some of which use the word Linux in their name.

Torvalds himself, to create a full-fledged OS on his own kernel, used a set of third-party programs under the auspices of the General Public License (GPL), developed by Richard Stallman. Torvalds reverently calls him "the god of free software."

Stallman began working on a free alternative to Unix in 1984. "Free" was the key word. His task was to ensure that no one could appropriate the source codes and demand payment for them. Stallman created the ideological and legal basis for such software - the Free Software Manifesto and, together with lawyers, wrote the General Public License (GPL). It states that if a programmer has used code licensed under the GPL, then he must provide everyone who wants the source code of the resulting product, the right to modify and distribute it. The next programmer will have to do the same, using GPL-licensed software for their programs, etc.

Torvalds, using Stallman's work, also licensed his kernel under the GPL. Therefore, in 2001, the CEO Microsoft Ballmer swore, “Linux is a cancer that devours all intellectual property it touches. According to the license rules, if you use any open source software components, you must open the source code of all the software you have ”(Cnet quote).

Why Linux is popular

Initially, Torvalds did not want to distribute his work. But he boasted of his successes on the Internet forum and, so that he would not be considered a talker, posted the code.

His creation captivated other programmers, who began to install it on their computers and suggest improvements. Perfection was indeed very far away. Somehow Torvalds received a letter, the author of which praised Linux for a long time, and at the end said that the floppy driver contained an error that had just destroyed his hard drive.

The system became more and more popular. By then, Torvalds hadn't been working on Linux alone for a long time. More and more people understood the code and suggested their improvements, and they did it absolutely free. There is a system that allows volunteers to work on new version Linux along with other developers, see the changes made by others and revert to previous versions of files in case of errors. Linux once had 10,000 lines of code. Now the bill goes to tens of millions. In 2017, about 80,000 improvements for Linux were proposed, 90% of them were paid programmers, and 30% of them worked for Intel, The New Yorker wrote.

Torvalds knows Linux so well that the proposed changes are often accepted or rejected at sight: "It's like looking into a book and not seeing individual letters or words, but grasping the whole proposal" (quoted by Bloomberg). But if the changes are serious, then he needs 10-25 minutes to test them. Although Torvalds has a variety of assistants to filter out suggestions, he sometimes has to look at 30 changes a day.

Thanks to such a system, Linux has attracted the attention of major players. The first among large companies to install software based on the Linux kernel on their equipment was Sun Microsystems, then IBM, Informix, Oracle ... Small companies were also interested. The rise of online commerce in the 1990s created the need for server software. Previously, you had to spend thousands of dollars on it, now you could bet it for a penny by adapting Linux. Anyone could open their own business on the network.

Torvalds believes that the key to Linux's success is that it doesn't have a niche of its own. Once Unix relied on military supercomputers, banks, financial institutions, he says in his autobiography Just for Fun. The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary ”. This software cost a lot of money. Then she came Microsoft with its relatively inexpensive prices and began to work everywhere. “But imagine a liquid organism that floods any space it finds. If one of the niches is lost, it doesn't matter. The body fills the whole world, flowing into all holes. The same is happening now with Linux. She finds herself wherever there is interest in her.<...>It can be found on supercomputers in all sorts of cool places like the National Laboratory. Fermi and NASA. But there she flowed from the server space. And into it, in turn, I got from the world of desktop computers - this is where I started. At the same time, Linux is on embedded devices, from anti-lock brakes to clocks. See how she fills the world. "

Of course, another reason for the popularity is the image of Robin Hood. On the one hand - a monster corporation Microsoft, rumors about surveillance of users, etc., and on the other - free software and a humble Finn.

How Torvalds became a millionaire

“I had a hard time scraping together the money for the monthly payments for my computer, which were calculated for three years,” Torvalds recalled in his biography. But he thought it was wrong to charge for Linux. The reason for this is Finland, with its attitude to greed, and a stubborn communist father, and the unwillingness to make those who helped him make the program better pay, Torvalds argued.

On the Internet there are so-called harem pants (from the English shareware) - free software that asks: "If you like me, send money to the author." In Linux, there was no such request, but many wrote to Torvalds that they would gladly support him financially. At that time, a letter from the "maximum repost" series was circulating on the Internet: allegedly the boy Craig was dying of cancer, but he could be encouraged by sending a postcard. Torvalds jokingly asked for a couple of lines instead of currency. When mailbox began to burst with postcards from all over the world, the family suspected that Linus was doing something important. He himself did not talk much about Linux, despite all the reproaches that his modem was constantly on the phone line.

Torvalds lived and dined with his mother. It had about $ 5,000 in student loans, about $ 50 a month went on loan for a computer, and some money was needed for beer. The loan problem resolved itself: a friend announced on the Internet a subscription to pay for Torvalds' computer, and he accepted the money as an exception. And he paid off the rest from his salary. There is a Swedish-speaking minority in Finland, to which the Torvalds belong. In 1992, the Faculty of Computer Science required an assistant who spoke Swedish and understood computers. There were only two of them in the faculty.

Three years later, Torvalds became a staff scientist at the university: he received money for research, which, by and large, boiled down to improving Linux.

Thanks to teaching, Torvalds got married. A kindergarten teacher and six-time Finnish karate champion Tove signed up for his special course "Introduction to Computer Science". The first task was to send a letter to the teacher by e-mail- it was not as easy as it is now. In a letter, Tove invited him on a date. At first, they did not part at all, and Torvalds even abandoned programming.

In 1997, Torvalds moved to the United States with his family to work for Transmeta, a low-power processor development company. One of the co-owners of this company is Paul Allen, who, together with Bill Gates, founded Microsoft... Torvalds' job was to maintain the project's Linux infrastructure.

Torvalds never had more than $ 5,000 in bank accounts - until the turn of the century, when he became a millionaire overnight. Just because Linux is free doesn't mean you can't make money on it. Even when the project was just in its infancy, the kernel could be downloaded for free from the Internet - or bought from enterprising guys its recording on a floppy disk or CD. You can earn on services for Linux installation, you can customize Linux for a fee to suit the needs of a particular company. The latter is handled by Red Hat, which went public on August 11, 1999. And before that, as a token of gratitude, she gave Torvalds an option on a block of shares.

On the very first day of trading, quotes doubled. But he had the right to sell the papers no earlier than 180 days later. Fortunately, all this time they grew (in 2009 Red Hat will enter the S&P 500), and the cost of Torvalds' package reached $ 5 million.

Soon after, another company, VA Linux, went public and gave Torvalds an option in the same way. In the wake of optimism, shares immediately rose 10 times to $ 300. But it turned out to be overkill, and the dot-com bubble was beginning to deflate. From $ 300, the shares began to fall, and at a minimum a year later they were given $ 6.6 for them. Torvalds recalls how awful it was for 180 days to watch your package get cheaper and you can't sell it.

With the money raised from the shares, the family (now the author of Linux has three daughters) bought a house in America, and Torvalds became addicted to keeping in the garage, in addition to the family Pontiac, a convertible, usually yellow.

In 2012, Torvalds won the Millennium Technology Prize, the world's largest technology award. He shared the prize of 1.2 million euros with another laureate of that year, Japanese stem cell researcher Shinya Yamanaka.

But Torvalds' main source of income after he left Transmeta in 2003 was the Linux Foundation (in those years it was called the Open Source Development Labs). His job is to evaluate other people's suggestions for improving Linux: “I haven't written any code myself in years. Everything I write is just fixing other people's mistakes, I make changes in one or two lines, my contribution is to combine different pieces of code ”(quoted from The Register). The fund is being funded with donations, including from companies using Linux. According to The New Yorker, in 2017 his budget was $ 50 million, and Torvalds received $ 1.6 million from the fund in 2016.

Responsibility for a rude person

“When I manage a project with hundreds of thousands of developers, I act exactly the same as in my student days: I don’t assign anything to anyone, I just wait for someone to call,” Torvalds said in his biography book. - I approve or reject their work, but for the most part I let events go their own way. If two people are heading in similar directions, then I accept the work of both, to see who will start to be used. Sometimes both are used, but they start to develop in different directions. Once there was a lot of competition between two people: each of them insisted that his patches be used, which conflicted with the opponent's patches. I stopped accepting patches from both until one of the developers lost interest. This is what King Solomon would have done if he had run a kindergarten. "

This approach has proven to be effective on a Linux scale. But when Torvalds was instructed by Transmeta to manage a department of 15 employees, he showed his complete inadequacy. Three months later, he was quietly demoted back to programmers.

But as the main Linux coordinator, not everyone likes him, since the style of his communication with colleagues for many years remained "student": the programmer did not restrain himself in expressions.

In 2013, one of the developers even wrote a letter to Torvalds asking him not to offend or intimidate colleagues. “If you want me to 'act professionally', I can tell you that I am not interested,” Torvalds replied. - I sit at home in the study, wearing a robe. I am not going to start wearing a tie, and in the same way I am not going to engage in false politeness, deceit, office politics and hooking, passive aggressiveness and other fashionable words. Because THAT is what it takes to “act professionally”: people resort to all kinds of unpleasant things because they are forced to follow their usual impulses in an unnatural way ”(quoted by The New Yorker).

In 2015, Torvalds' closest associate, programmer Greg Kroah-Hartman, wrote the Conflict Resolution Code, in part to shield others from harsh language. Torvalds approved the innovation, but did not begin to restrain himself. At the end of that year, Sarah Sharp and Matthew Gareth withdrew from the Linux kernel development team due to harsh treatment. “I am actually an unpleasant person. Some think I'm so cute and some are shocked to see otherwise. I'm not a nice person and I wanted to spit on you. I'm worried about the technology and the core, ”Torvalds reacted (quoted from The Register).

Last October, kernel developers were scheduled to attend the Linux Maintainer Summit. Torvalds visited her for 20 years in a row. But this time he confused the date and planned a vacation with his family. This was revealed ahead of time, but he refused to change plans for the summit and left for Scotland. Then its participants decided to gather not in Vancouver, but in Edinburgh, closer to Torvalds, so that he could nevertheless join them for a short while. The story was vigorously discussed in programmer circles, and The New Yorker reporters reached a meeting with Torvalds and asked him questions about the incident and his relationship with colleagues. In September 2018 - even before the article was published - Torvalds apologized for his behavior, promised to think about how to change it, and announced that he would be temporarily removed from Linux coordination.

In the same month, a new code of conduct for Linux developers was released, and in October Torvalds returned to the team (he also attended the forum).

Now the community lives by new rules. In the past, being spontaneous and straightforward in expressing opinions was considered natural and beneficial in open source software development. Now the criticism needs to be expressed constructively, and after hearing it, you need to think it over carefully. Derogatory comments, personal attacks, expressions with sexual connotations are prohibited. Torvalds is still trying to hold back.