Computer workstations became popular in the early 80s and in the 90s, Linus Torvalds, who was then still a student, wrote the kernel for a UNIX clone and called it Linux.
One of the distributions of Linux (including books, and inexpensive CDs) is from Red Hat who thought that in the beginning Linux must be a "fluke" and Linux could not be a "sustainable economic model." Programmers told them:
to the users according to their needs."Most of the software companies have eventually failed, whether they are dealing with proprietary intellectual property type software or free software. But, when they do well, they do very well.
With free open source software, it is the packaging that counts and Red Hat is making a lot of money distributing this otherwise FREE software. The way they do it is either you have their distribution free by downloading it, or you can pay them for an easier to install CD and support. It is very inexpensive to buy, because afterall, anyone who wants it can also get their free download, but most choose to buy it because they perceive the support and ease of installation to be worth the $5 to $30 cost.
Other software companies are doing the same thing, i.e., Mandrake, VA, Calderra, Corel,, and the list goes on, et al. And, there are computer manufacturers who are now also including the Linux operating system with their computers. VA, Dell and Compaq will sell you a computer with Linux as either the only OS or along with Windows. Why bother with Linux? Because it is FREE or practically free, and it doesn't crash like Windows. It is a better operating system and it is "open source", so it is improved by hackers everywhere.
These companies which distribute Linux market a service. They don't have to pay for intellectual rights, and some in the Linux community resent that they're making money this way and those hackers encourage others to take the source code and create their own combination and configuration using the Linux kernel. The kernel is the engine which drives all these various software modules and is the heart of the Linux system. Because Linux is comprised of all these various components is what creates a market for it with all those modules consolidated into a package. And, that is what these companies offer with their service and their configuration of Linux.
All the commercial distributions of Linux, and keep in mind you can download Linux and Linux components free off the net, take a combination of components and put them all together so the result is their own configured distro of the Linux (OS)operating system.
The code has been made free, just as Netscape has made free their code for the Navigator browser -- and the results are better products and a low or no cost.
The license with open source is called (GPL) "General Public License" and it gurantees that any improvements made must remain in the public domain.
Linux isn't a project for the faint hearted because of it's multiple configurations. The Linux project has really grown and a whole culture has developed from it. There is no end to the amount of choices that are available and possible.
The internet has up until now been dominated by Microsoft and their far inferior Windows OS. Using the Free Software Foundation's toolkit, Linux Torvalds developed the FREE kernel for Linux, which is entirely free and with redistributable sources.
Linux has been developing rapidly because of the strategy to release code as it was developed and to be worked on by all of it's users and by the mid 90s it was very stable and worked as well as any commercial Unix. But it has taken until now for the Linux operating system to obtain widespread acceptability and it still has a ways to go before becoming user-friendly enough for the masses.
It has taken the WEB and Linux to synergize and become a catalyst for this interest. Linux is now selling on CD-Rom everywhere. You will see it in all the bookstores and in the office supply and computer stores.
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