Linux Introduction

Presenter: Abdikarim Abdullahiarim Abdullahi

What is Linux Operating System
All computers rely on an operating system (OS) to provide the interface for
interaction between users, applications, and hardware.
The operating system boots the computer and manages the file system.

Operating System instructs the computer how to operate
The operating system (OS) controls almost all functions on a computer

The operating system has four main roles:
Control hardware access
Manage files and folders
Provide user interface
Manage applications

Just like Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Mac OS X, Linux is an
operating system. An operating system is software that manages all of the
hardware resources associated with your desktop or laptop.
To put it simply the operating system manages the communication between
your software and your hardware. Without the operating system (often
referred to as the OS), the software wouldnt function.


The operating system (OS) is the program which starts up when you turn
on your computer and runs underneath all other programs - without it
nothing would happen at all.
In simple terms, an operating system is a manager. It manages all the
available resources on a computer, from the CPU, to memory, to hard
disk accesses.
Tasks the operating system must perform:
Control Hardware - The operating system controls all the parts of the computer
and attempts to get everything working together.
Run Applications - Another job the OS does is run application software. This would
include word processors, web browsers, games, etc...
Manage Data and Files - The OS makes it easy for you to organize your computer.
Through the OS you are able to do a number of things to data, including copy,
move, delete, and rename it. This makes it much easier to find and organize what
you have.

Types of operating systems
Operating systems usually come preloaded on any computer you buy. Most people use the
operating system that comes with their computer, but it is possible to upgrade or even change
operating systems.
The three most common operating systems for personal computers are Microsoft Windows, Mac
OS X, and Linux.

Modern operating systems use a Graphical User Interface, or GUI (pronounced "gooey"). A GUI
lets you use your mouse to click on icons, buttons, and menus, and everything is clearly
displayed on the screen using a combination ofgraphics and text.
Each operating system's GUI has a different look and feel, so if you switch to a different
operating system it may seem unfamiliar at first. However, modern operating systems are
designed to be easy to use, and most of the basic principles are the same.
In the images below, you can see the Windows and Mac OS X GUIs.

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft created the Windows operating system in the mid-1980s. Over the
years, there have been many different versions of Windows, but the most
recent ones are Windows 8 (released in 2012), Windows 7 (2009),
and Windows Vista (2007). Windows comes preloaded on most new PCs,
which helps to make it the most popular operating system in the world.
If you're buying a new computer or upgrading to a newer version of Windows,
you can choose from several different editions of Windows, such as Home
Premium, Professional, and Ultimate. You may need to do some research to
decide which edition is right for you.

Apple Mac OS X

Mac OS is a line of operating systems created by Apple Inc. It comes
preloaded on all new Macintosh computers, or Macs. All of the recent versions
are known as OS X (pronounced O-S Ten), and the specific versions
include Mavericks(released in 2013), Mountain Lion (2012), Lion (2011),
and Snow Leopard (2009). Apple also offers a version called Mac OS X
Server, which is designed to be run on servers.

Operating systems for mobile devices
The operating systems we've been talking about were designed to run
on desktop or laptop computers.
Mobile devices such as phones, tablet computers, and mp3 players are
different from desktop and laptop computers, so they run operating systems
that are designed specifically for mobile devices. Examples of mobile
operating systems include Apple iOS, Windows Phone, and Google Android.

Linux
Linux (pronounced LINN-ux) is a family of open-source operating systems, which means they
can be modified and distributed by anyone around the world. This is different from proprietary
software like Windows, which can only be modified by the company that owns it (Microsoft).
The advantages of Linux are that it is free, and there are many different distributions (or
versions) you can choose from. Each distribution has a different look and feel, and the most
popular ones include Ubuntu, Mint, and Fedora.
Linux is named after Linus Torvalds, who created the Linux kernel in 1991. The kernel is the
computer code that is the central part of an operating system.

Before Linux
In 80s, Microsofts DOS was the dominated OS for PC
Apple MAC was better, but expensive
UNIX was much better, but much, much more expensive. Only for
minicomputer for commercial applications
People was looking for a UNIX based system, which is cheaper
and can run on PC
Both DOS, MAC and UNIX were proprietary, i.e., the source code
of their kernel is protected No modification is possible without
paying high license fees

GNU project

Established in 1984 by Richard Stallman, who believes that software should be free
from restrictions against copying or modification in order to make better and
efficient computer programs

GNU is a recursive acronym for GNU's Not Unix
Aim at developing a complete Unix-like operating
system which is free for copying and modification
Companies make their money by maintaining and
distributing the software, e.g. optimally packaging the
software with different tools (Redhat, Slackware,
Mandrake, SuSE, etc)
Stallman built the first free GNU C Compiler in 1991.
But still, an OS was yet to be developed
Beginning of Linux
A famous professor Andrew Tanenbaum developed Minix, a simplified version of
UNIX that runs on PC
Minix is for class teaching only. No intention for commercial use
In Sept 1991, Linus Torvalds, a second year student of Computer Science at the
University of Helsinki, developed the preliminary kernel of Linux, known as Linux
version 0.0.1

Linux Today
Linux has been used for many computing platforms
PC, PDA, Supercomputer,
Not only character user interface but graphical user interface is available
Commercial vendors moved in Linux itself to provide freely distributed code. They
make their money by compiling up various software and gathering them in a
distributable format
Red Hat, Slackware, etc

In order to encourage wide
dissemination of his OS, Linus made the
source code open to public. At the end of
1992 there were about a hundred Linux
developers. Next year there were 1000.
And the numbers multiplied every year.
Recent estimates say about 29 million people use Linux worldwide. The effects
of the dot-com bust, IT slowdown and global economic recession can be clearly
seen.
If you run Linux, add your machine at Linux Counter
Source: The Linux Counter
Linux: No of Users
Growing and growing
So the question is, why shift to Linux?

Shelling out money for a computer and then more for an operating system
sounds costly to anyone especially if there are alternatives.
Windows requires users to pay licensing fees and other extended fees to
maximize its features while Linux is being distributed for free or sometimes at
a minimal fee from other distribution companies.

Also, in terms of multi-users, Windows is only allowed to be installed and run
on a single computer unless you pay for another license,unlike Linux which
allows multi-user installation with no additional cost.

Users who are considering making a change from Windows to Linux or Linux to Windows
commonly want to know the advantages and disadvantages of each of theoperating systems.
Below is a chart to help illustrate the major advantages and disadvantages of each of these
operating systems.
Topic Linux Windows
Price The majority of Linux variants are
available for free or at a much lower
price than Microsoft Windows.
Microsoft Windows can
run between $50.00 -
$150.00 US dollars per
each license copy.
Ease Although the majority Linux variants
have improved dramatically in ease of
use, Windows is still much easier to use
for most computer users because of the
familiarity of Windows and because it's
more likely they are using a Windows
computer at home, in school, or at the
office.
Microsoft has made
several advancements
and changes that have
made it a much easier to
use operating system,
and although arguably it
may not be the easiest
operating system, it is
still Easier than Linux.
Linux vs Windows
Reliability The majority of Linux variants and
versions are notoriously reliable and can
often run for months and years without
needing to be rebooted.
Although Microsoft
Windows has made great
improvements in
reliability over the last
few versions of Windows,
it still cannot match the
reliability of Linux.
Software Linux has a large variety of
available softwareprograms, utilities, and
games. However, Windows has a much
larger selection of available software.
Because of the large
amount of Microsoft
Windows users, there is a
much larger selection of
availablesoftware program
s, utilities, and games for
Windows.
Software
Cost
Many of the available software programs,
utilities, and games available on Linux
arefreeware or open source. Even such
complex programs such
as Gimp, OpenOffice,StarOffice, and wine are
available for free or at a low cost.
Although Windows does
havesoftware programs,
utilities, and games for
free, the majority of the
programs will cost anywhere
between $20.00 - $200.00+
US dollars per copy.
Hardwar
e
Although hardware manufacturers have made
great advancements in supporting Linux it still
will not support most hardware devices. However,
for the hardware devices that have driver support
they usually work in all versions of Linux.
Because of the amount of
Microsoft Windows users and
the broader driver support,
Windows has a much larger
support for hardware devices
and almost all hardware
manufacturers will support
their products in Microsoft
Windows.
Security Linux is and has always been a very secure
operating system. Although it still can be
attacked when compared to Windows, it much
more secure.
Although Microsoft has made
great improvements over the
years with security on their
operating system, their
operating system continues
to be the most vulnerable to
viruses and other attacks.
Linux Distributions:

Red Hat Linux : One of the original Linux distribution.
The commercial, nonfree version is Red Hat Enterprise Linux, which is aimed at
big companies using Linux servers and desktops in a big way. Free version:
Fedora Project.

Debian GNU/Linux : A free software distribution. Popular for use on servers.
However, Debian is not what many would consider a distribution for beginners, as
it's not designed with ease of use in mind.

SuSE Linux : SuSE was recently purchased by Novell. This distribution is primarily
available for pay because it contains many commercial programs, although there's
a stripped-down free version that you can download.

Mandrake Linux : Mandrake is perhaps strongest on the desktop. Originally based
off of Red Hat Linux.

Gentoo Linux : Gentoo is a specialty distribution meant for programmers.