What is Linux

Linux is an operating system. An operating system enables software to talk to the hardware and all computers need an operating system. Linux comes in distributions that include the operating system and lots of free software too. The two other most common operating systems are Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac OS.

Linux differs from the other operating systems in several ways:

Linux is “open source” software which is released under the General Public License . This means that anybody has the right to view, copy and improve the programming code that makes up Linux as long as they in turn share the code with anybody else that wants it. This means any problems with Linux are fixed very quickly and it is constantly being improved.

The architecture of Linux is fundamentally different from the other main home operating systems. This design makes Linux unlikely to crash, more secure, virtually immune from virus's and very fast at running on older computers.

Linux can be used with either a command line (like MS DOS) or a graphical user interface with a mouse (like Microsoft Windows) and you can use which ever one you prefer or even both. Click here to see what Linux looks like with a graphical user interface.

Strictly speaking Linux is only the code that communicates between the hardware and software (the "kernel"). The term Linux now commonly refers to collections of software or “distributions”, that include and run on Linux. Most distributions will include the majority of the software that you will need including word processors, email programs and web browsers - all included in the price. (And frequently the price is free!)

You can learn more about Linux at howstuffworks and Linux.org .