Linux? After all, what is this?

Find out more about what distribution is, friendly systems and where it came from.

Did you encounter a situation where you don't know how to use a computer that uses Linux? Here is a list of useful programs that are, to some extent, better than many proprietary platform software (like Apple and Micro $ oft).

Linux consists of a system derived from UNIX, the operating system of the time, and was initially developed to make all UNIX software of that time work, that is, it was not created to supposedly replace Windows, after all, at that time Microsoft nor did he aspire to the idea of ​​having an operating system that would be a market reference.

Despite everything, Linux has grown, and today many companies rely on it to use on high-level platforms, such as databases, servers, and the most diverse services, involving property security, the factory floor, even the simplest and small network peripherals, such as routers and gateways.

Linux has a license, which is called a GPL license, which basically the user can copy, modify, distribute, and even resell offering services in exchange, does not mean that Linux is free, but it means that it is open to be explored, modified and redistributed.

In most linux software, you must also have the source code to run, and there are so many editions of Linux that there may be thousands, each for a different purpose, just as each user left it.

Each version is called a distribution, and there is an operating system that contains the Linux kernel.

The Kernel is the center of the system, it is where there is really interaction between data input and output, processor and user, through input and output devices, such as a mouse, keyboard, monitor, printer, hard disk, among others.

We can say that the Kernel is the “Motherboard” via computer software, and it is through it, or through the modules, that the necessary information is sent and transferred, and / or processed.

There are several versions of distros that you can use to learn more about Linux, others are already more complicated to use, each has its motto, and it can vary a lot.

Perhaps, the most friendly of them, is Ubuntu, (www.ubuntu.com) that offers several versions of the distribution, either for Pen-Drive or CD, usually all as Live (runs without needing to install on the computer). The motto of this distribution, is to make Linux useful for everyone, taking forms that assist in the live installation, most of the time everything automated, with the motto perhaps as "your friend". This distro, is a modified version, derived from debian.

The most difficult of them (because it does not come with several add-ons, and in the first run, does not start the graphical environment) is Slackware (www.slackware.com), which has the motto of "turn around". Of this distribution, there are many modifications by other users and it is even redistributed with other names.

A good option for web-type servers, or similar, is the Debian distribution, which derives from several other distributions, such as Ubuntu, Big Linux, BrDesktop, BRLix, DreamLinux, Kalango Linux, Knoppix, Kurumin, Linspire, Xandros, among many others.

Well, for example, see this image showing the timeline and the various distributions that have been derived (enter the source to view in detail):

Source: http://futurist.se/gldt/

Note that basically, three distributions are the main ones, and the rest are modifications and user improvements. Red Hat, is a distribution of Red Hat Inc. (www.redhat.com) that markets the version offering cutting-edge technical support, perhaps the most expensive in the industry, and only robust software is included in this distribution version, and there are the version of Fedora, which is the trial version of Red Hat, which is free. The great advantage is that everything new, the Red Hat team puts it in Fedora, so we can know the new tools, however, they are not always robust enough, that is, only software that did not have problems in Fedora, is that they will officially for Red Hat.