who more and who less’ve read something about “Linux”. Maybe not quite sure what it is, maybe he knows but considers it strange. Yet a large percentage of people will read that word used Linux in some way or another , almost without realizing it. Because Linux is on the servers that serve web pages. Linux is in some companies and administrations. Linux on the desktop, in small quantities, but it is. And Linux is on our phones, each passing day in greater proportion. But what is Linux? What affects us use it? And why is it important for Android? Throughout these weeks I will try to answer these questions.
A little historyAnd of course, we must start at the beginning, the beginning not too glamorous. The year is 1991, and computing students at the University of Helsinki have to use the Minix operating system in their education. An operating system is a special type of program that allows you to control a computer or other computing device. For example, Windows is an operating system, such as Mac OS and yes, Android.
But one student, Linus Torvalds , does not understand why this system has many limitations Minix. You can not “gutting” to see how it works. You can develop modifications to improve it, or delete items that you can spare. Guilt was license imposed by its creator, and it’s not like Unix alternatives were better in that regard. And rather than expound their fury on mailing lists then (precursor of the current forums), decided to take action on the matter. In October he sent a message:
Hello everyone using minix.
‘m making an operating system (just a hobby, will not be big and professional like gnu) for 386 AT clones (486). [...] Any suggestions are welcome, but not promising to implement it: D
The reaction was immediate. In a few months, developers from around the world contacted Torvalds to contribute their bit to the creation of the operating system, which was dubbed Linux to the surprise of its own creator. The key to this success was the decision to release the source code , so that anyone could copy, modify and distribute. It soon became the banner of free philosophy revolutionaries like Richard Stallman raised years ago.
Over time, large companies like Intel e IBM saw its potential as a competitor to Windows and invested large amounts of money. They did not want to depend on Microsoft , and Linux open scheme provide the code allowed without the weight they needed to create a system from scratch. Currently, Linux based operating systems are synonymous with stability, security and development .
When the best does not win
But something was missing. Missing the success with the public . And it was obvious that Linux had been created by and for programmers. Professionally, Linux has always had more success, particularly in the important market of the servers. Despite the efforts of many people, Linux still can not fight on equal terms of use against the big giant Windows. Ubuntu is the version that has had more success so far, with a clear interface reminiscent of mobile systems and the average user as a top priority. As important as Valve Companies have realized this, and so have launched versions of their programs, but there is still a long road ahead, with figures of around 1% of total users.
And then came Google . But that’s a story for another day.
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