Linux

High Quality Operating System

Linux is a high quality computer operating system.

Thousands of Programs Available

Thousands of programs are available. With most Linux distributions, the commonly used programs are installed with the operating system. Others may be downloaded and installed from the internet.

Security

Linux is designed to be secure. All of the programs needed for maintaining security are free.

Set up to Meet Needs

Linux can be set up in any way that meets the needs of the user.

Free

Think about how much money you are likely to spend on computer programs, this year, next year, for the rest of your life. This money can be saved.

Linux is available for free if you download it from the internet, or for a small cost if you purchase CDs or DVDs. All of the programs are free. As new versions are released, these are also free.

Many companies and organizations now use Linux because it saves money.

Who Uses Linux?

Following are a few examples of companies or organizations who use linux.

Bay Area Rapid Transit, San Francisco, United States
Boeing
Canadian Medical Laboratories
Canadian National Railways
City of Garden Grove, California, United States
City of Largo, Florida, United States
City of Mexico City, Mexico, and Mexico City Schools
City of Munich, Germany
City of Prescott, Arizona, United States
Daimler Chrysler
Federation of European Integration
Google
Government of Brazil
Hitachi
IBM
Mercedes Benz
New Jersey Police, United States
New Zealand Forrest Research Institute
Nokia
Panasonic
Shell
Singapore Airlines
Sony
Toyota
United States Army
United States Federal Courts
United States Navy
United States Postal Service

The number of people and orgainzations using Linux is continually increasing.

Linux Distributions

Many different, people, groups and organizations make Linux distributions. Some are large companies, some are non-profit groups, and others are just ordinary people with an interest in Linux. Linux is open source, which means people can use ideas from others. If someone has a good idea, it is not long before others also use it. People making Linux distributions often pick the best ideas they can find. This has resulted in Linux developing into a high quality operating system.

People starting new distributions, often base them on popular distributions. For example, Debian has been a popular distribution for a long time, and many distributions were based on it. Ubuntu was one of these, and it has become a popular distribution. Many new distributions are now based on Ubuntu. One advantage with this is that a program written for any of these distributions, can be installed in the others. There are now thousands of programs available. Some are sophisticated high quality programs. Others are basic programs for performing simple tasks. You can choose which you use.

Examples of Linux distributions include:

Debian
Fedora
Kubuntu
Mandriva
Mint
Slackware
Slax
Suse
Tiny Core
Ubuntu
Xubuntu

There are many others.

http://distrowatch.com/ has information on Linux distributions.

Which Distribution?

You may be wondering which distribution to use. Different distributions have different features, and are more suited for particular uses. People also have different needs and preferences. Some distributions are easier for new users. With others you need more technical knowledge. You may try a number of different distributions and see which one you prefer. Improvements are continually being made, and new editions are released often. So in the future we may all use different distributions.

If you learn how to use one distribution, then later use another, most things are similar.

Live CDs and DVDs

Many Linux distributions are available as live CDs or DVDs, which can run without being installed. This is a way to see what they are like without installing them.

Help, Tutorials and Forums

Linux contains help pages. There are thousands of help pages and tutorials available on the internet. There are also forums, where you can ask questions, and others normally answer them.

Verify Checksum

If you download Linux, you can check if your download has been corrupted by verifying the MD5 checksum. The checksum must be exactly the same. If it is different, the download is corrupted, and it needs to be downloaded again.

If a Computer Won't Start from a CD, DVD or USB Drive >