In this article, I will try to tell you as simply and clearly as possible about what is linux, what is a linux distribution, I will tell you about the features of Linux and the differences from operating system Windows, we will also talk about the graphical user interface in Linux and much more.

linux is a free operating system for computers based on the Linux kernel.

Linux kernel- This is the main component of the operating system, which is the center of this system, around which everything is built. The Linux kernel coordinates all activities between the computer hardware and all operating system components, including applications. Thus, the Linux kernel is the base, the basis on which the Linux operating system is built.

The Linux kernel first appeared in 1991, developed by Finnish programmer Linus Torvalds.

Official symbol of Linux is a penguin named Tux, which is different from "ordinary" penguins with yellow beak and paws. Therefore, do not be surprised that almost all mentions of Linux are accompanied by such a penguin.

The Linux operating system is a modular system and it is extensible, thus, the Linux operating system consists not only of the kernel, it also includes a graphical shell ( GUI user), a set of applications, and other components that connect to and interact with the Linux kernel.

Software for Linux is distributed in the form of packages and is stored in special so-called repositories.

repository is a repository that stores application packages or just packages to extend the functionality of the Linux operating system. The repositories can be freely accessed from the operating system, so you can install additional programs very easily.

On a note! If you want to learn how to use Linux on your home computer without using the command line, I recommend reading my book - " »

Linux GUI

The main and popular ones in Linux are:

• KDE (K Desktop Environment) - one of the largest and most popular graphical shells, has a beautiful, convenient and functional interface, due to this, it is quite demanding on computer resources;
• GNOME (GNU Network Object Model Environment) is another desktop environment that is widely used and is also very popular and functional. Starting with version 3, GNOME began to use the technology GNOME Shell, which made this environment completely new and significantly different from the classic version. It was this fact that inspired the creation of new shells that continued the classic GNOME environment, but with a different name;
• MATE- has an intuitive and, most importantly, convenient user interface, due to this it is very attractive. Given environment is a continuation of the classic GNOME interface;
• Cinnamon- Another continuation of the classic GNOME with the use of modern technologies. Very comfortable, functional and beautiful desktop environment;
• xfce- a simple, functional and at the same time very fast and lightweight graphical shell;
• LXDE (Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment) is one of the lightest and fastest desktop environments that is not demanding on computer resources, so it has a very conservative interface.

Feature of Linux and difference from Windows

The main feature and difference between Linux and the Windows family of operating systems is that Linux uses a completely different approach to organizing the file system and using completely different types of file systems.

In Windows, you are used to seeing logical drives C, D, and so on; in Linux, there are no such drives. Instead, Linux has a root (/) from which everything grows. All file and directory addresses start from the root, all partitions are mounted to the root, including physical disks ( USB flash drives and so on).

Thus, absolutely all physical disks and partitions are combined into a single file structure, starting with the root (/).

Linux, as already noted, uses other file systems, not like, for example, Windows - NTFS or FAT, although Linux can work with these types of file systems.

Linux actively uses the following types of file systems:

• ext4– modern journaling file system, which is standard on Linux;
• btrfs- a fairly new file system based on B-tree structures, in some tests it even shows better performance compared to ext4;
• xfs- this file system is distinguished by a fairly high performance in terms of writing and reading data. However, due to the nature of this file system, there is a risk of data loss in case of serious failures.

In general, the internal workings of Linux and Windows systems, of course, are significantly different, but today for the average user home computer these differences are almost invisible. Modern Linux is a very user-friendly, already user-oriented operating system.

Nevertheless, Windows still remains the most popular operating system, and just because of this, the most vulnerable. Since it is under Windows that most viruses are created, daily "bad" developers are looking for vulnerabilities in this operating system in order to create another virus.

In Linux, things are much better with viruses; Much less viruses are created under Linux, and as a result, Linux is considered a safer and more virus-resistant operating system.

In terms of software, Linux has become so widespread that a huge number of applications are being developed for this system, including the most popular ones that are in Windows. And by the way, installing applications in modern Linux has become much easier than in Windows. The installation process resembles something like installing applications on smartphones, i.e. everything is installed from one point in one click. That is, you launch a system component that accesses the repositories and reads the list of available packages ( with description, with ratings, with comments from other users), and you just click on the one you need and that's it. Of course, not all Linux distributions have such functionality, but in the most popular ones, the installation happens exactly like this.

Also, the main difference from Windows is that Linux is a completely free and open source operating system. Any developer can modify it and create their own system on its basis with absolutely legal rights. All software Linux is mostly free as well. Linux is free to distribute and use. Therefore, there are a huge number of Linux distributions, and what it is, I'll tell you now.

What is a Linux distribution?

Linux distribution is a variation of the Linux operating system. There are many Linux distributions, as any developer can use the Linux kernel and create their own operating system. Thus, developers unite in communities and create operating systems based on the Linux kernel, which are distributions. Distributions include all the necessary software for work, and often most distributions have everything you need to start using the system immediately after installation, unlike the same Windows, where you need to install the software necessary for work after installing the system.

Also, distributions can be created and maintained by various companies, and such distributions may already be paid.

A Linux distribution can be based on another distribution, and thus, countless varieties of distributions are born that are based on each other and they all have the same base, the same foundation.

Almost every distribution has its own repository, which stores all packages compatible and supported by the distribution, respectively, when installing applications from standard repositories, you always install only verified versions of programs.

Linux distributions can be roughly divided into two very large branches of development, two directions. Here I mean the division according to the way the software is organized and managed, i.e. packages.

There are two popular package management systems:

• DEB- the package file format used by the Debian distribution and all distributions based on it;
• RPM is a package manager used in the Red Hat distribution, as well as in many other popular distributions.

If you are a beginner Linux user, then you don't need to look at what package management system the distribution is based on, you need to look at the distribution as a final product, ie. for what purposes it was designed. I brought this division only so that you know that it exists, it will practically not affect your acquaintance with the Linux operating system in any way. The only time you will encounter this is when you install third party software that is not in the standard repositories. Since you will need to choose the type of package to install that matches your system.

Before you switch to Linux, you need to know what a particular distribution is designed and intended for. Since there are, for example, distributions that do not have a graphical shell, i.e. server systems, there are distributions that are purely command-line driven and designed for advanced users, but at the same time, there are distributions that are as simple and user-oriented as possible that are not inferior to Windows.

We will talk more about Linux distributions in the next article.

That's all I have for today, bye!

Now using latest version Ubuntu, Fedora or OpenSUSE, we can enjoy a beautiful and modern desktop environment, ease of use graphic programs, by the fact that most computer hardware is supported by the system without advanced settings. But have you ever wondered how our favorite operating system got to all this?

Do we consider and value the amount of time and effort spent huge amount developers to achieve this near-perfect state of the system? Probably not. Let's take a look at the history of this wonderful OS and its journey over the past few decades. When she was born? How did it evolve? What distributions came along during development, and what was the turning point that made the one-man project the ubiquitous operating system we have now? And what were the distributions archived by the community?

So, let's mentally go back in time, almost 30 years ago, and remember how the history of Linux systems began.

1991 - beginning

At the very beginning was Unix, created by programmers Ken Thompson and Denis Ritchie in 1969. Then, throughout the 1980s, there were many Unix-based projects inspired by this philosophy. These were: the GNU project by Richard Stallman, BSD (Berkley Software Distribution), Professor Andrew Tanenbaum's book "Operating Systems: Design and Implementation", and MINIX (a mini version of Unix), which appeared around the same time as the book.

But it wasn't until 1991 that the history of Linux began. A young Finnish student named Linus Torvalds combined everything he knew about existing systems into a new core that was able to take over the world. There are many legends about why Linus decided to work on his system. One of them says that he worked in MINIX and transferred data to the hard disk instead of the modem, which destroyed all Minix partitions. After that, he became disillusioned with this OS and decided to create his own.

Another version says that he wrote a kernel to improve the functionality of the new Intel 386 machine he was using. And since it was forbidden to improve Minix, he had to develop his own operating system.

Whatever the true reason, he created free emulator terminal, which was based on Minix, which in turn was based on Unix, and this became the basis for working on the kernel of the operating system. On August 25, 1991, Linus posted his famous message to the Minix newsletter.

After that, the first Linux version, which was then called Freax, quickly spread to FTP servers around the world, and the number of users began to grow rapidly. Version 0.01 was very different from what is available today. You can download the 71 kilobyte kernel yourself and try to install it from here.

Let's move on down the road of history. Needless to say, Linux has evolved into a full-blown OS, and the Manchester Computing Center created one of the first distributions to use a combined boot and root partition. The distribution was called MCC Interim Linux.

1992 - 1994 - development of desktop systems

Not much time passed, and between 1992 and 1994 we saw the emergence and development of the most famous and influential Linux distributions: Slackware, Red Hat and Debian. The kernel version has increased to 0.95, and there is support for the X Window System, which allows you to run graphical applications.

Slackware was one of the first distributions to use the new Linux kernel. Back then it was called SLS (Softlanding Linux System) and was founded by Peter McDonald in 1992. SLS was quite ahead of its time as it was the first Linux distribution to contain not only the Linux 0.99 kernel but also the TCP/IP stack and the X system Window. But this distribution had many problems and was soon replaced by Patrick Volkerding's Slackware. It is now the oldest Linux distribution.

But SLS didn't just give birth to Slackware. Due to the problematic SLS interface, another user decided to make his own system and thus launched another branch of Linux distributions. In 1993 Ian Murdoch released a Debian Linux distribution that he says was named after his then-girlfriend Debra Lynn and himself.

As Slackware evolved, companies emerged that provided technical support for such software. One of them appeared in 1994 and was called Software und System-Entwicklung, now it is better known as S.U.S.E Linux.

Another distribution that saw the light of day on November 3, 1994 is called Red Hat Commercial Linux. The distribution was created by Mark Ewing and bears the name of the red hat the author wore at university.

On March 14, 1994, Linux version 1.0.0 was released, which consisted of 176,250 lines of code. Thus began the history of the development of Linux-systems.

1995 - 1999 - the emergence of Gnome and KDE

During this period, the Linux operating system has made a big leap in development, as in the next five years there will be major Linux distributions that are known and widely used now, as well as less visible distributions. All this is happening during the release of the game "Attack of the Penguins" and the boom of dot.com.

Jurix Linux has been an interesting distribution and popular for a number of reasons. First, it was the first distribution with a scripted installer, allowing the administrator to simplify the installation process. It was one of the first distributions to support bootp and NFS, and was also the first to use the ext2 file system.

But Jurix did not become an important milestone in the history of Linux OS for this reason - on its basis SUSE Linux was created, which we still use today.

Distributions based on Red Hat Linux also developed rapidly during this time. Versions such as Caldera, Mandrake, TurboLinux, Yellow Dog, and Red Flag have emerged. Now the Linux kernel version has changed from 1.2 to 2.2.

Version 2.0 was released in 1996 and has already been preceded by 41 releases. It is this rapid evolution of the kernel and the addition of some very important features that have solidified the position of the Linux operating system as a server OS and system for IT professionals around the world.

For example, version 2.0 introduced support for the SMB protocol, improved memory management, support for working on various types processors. Version 2.2 received SMB improvements, PowerPC support, and the ability to mount NTFS, but so far it's read-only.

There is a legend that once during a holiday in Australia, Linus Torvalds visited the zoo, where he was bitten by a ferocious penguin. After that, he contracted penguinitis and became very fond of penguins. Anyway, Linus liked penguins. As he said, they are goofy and funny. As for the name of the Linux symbol - Tux, then on the Internet it is decoded as (T)orvalds (U)ni(X). Now you all know.

Debian-based systems didn't develop as actively as Red Hat. The developers preferred to work more on the usability and appearance of their distributions. Being more desktop-oriented, such distributions often appeared on the cover of popular IT magazines of the time. Names such as Libranet, Storm, Finnix and Corel Linux came across.

Undoubtedly, the most important event in this part of the history of the Linux OS was the advent of KDE and Gnome. KDE (Kool Desktop Environment) appeared in 1996. Its founder was Matthias Ettrich, a student at the University of Tübingen. He offered not just a set of applications, but a whole desktop environment in which they could run. Users now have the choice of using the X11 or KDE environment, written in the recent Qt framework.

By 1998, KDE 1.0 was released, and the first distribution to use it by default was Mandrake. By 2000, version 2.0 was released, which received many improvements, as well as Konqueror, KOffice, and the KIO library.

Miguel de Icaza and Federico Men have announced the development of a new desktop environment and applications based on the GTK+ library. This new desktop environment was called Gnome. It is believed that the first operating system to use Gnome was Red Hat Linux. Gnome has quickly become a popular desktop environment due to its high performance and user-friendliness. By May 2000, Gnome 1.2 Bongo was released.

2000 - 2005 - appearance of Live distributions

This period marked an important step in the history of the Linux operating system. During these five years, its popularity has grown strongly, many new computers running Linux have appeared. The kernel continued to get improvements, new programs appeared, and the first live distribution appeared.

Knoppix, a friendly distribution based on Debian and developed by Klaus Knopper, was one of the most popular at the time. It was remarkable for many reasons, but the main one was the ability to run and try the system directly from the CD.

We now consider this feature to be standard. But in those days, Knoppix, released on September 30, 2000, could run on any computer and get a complete system with support for various hardware and networks. It was something new. Knoppix became the basis for many distributions, and some of them are known and used to this day.

In addition to ready-made distributions, a project has appeared that helps users build their own distribution. Linux From Scratch (LFS) was developed alongside a book by Jared Beekmans that showed how to build your own Linux distribution from source.

Linux is first and foremost freedom, and it needs to evolve. But in order to support development, ensure its protection and preserve independence, it is necessary to form a company that will do all this. Therefore, in 2000, a fund was created to sponsor the work of Linus and the growing community to build and improve Linux, and to protect and preserve the core values ​​of the movement.

The key moment during this period was the release of the Linux 2.4 kernel version on January 4th. This version added support for USB, PC cards, ISA Plug and Play, as well as Bluetooth, RAID and ext3. In fact, it was the kernel with the longest support period, ending with version 2.4.37.11 in 2011. The kernel has changed a lot and has become more versatile compared to 1.0.

Red Hat, which had already entered the stock market and received money for supporting the free Red Hat Linux OS, decided that it was time to take a more commercial approach to business. Therefore, the distribution was divided into two branches. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 has appeared with kernel 2.4.9. It was more stable, with a long support life and for commercial users. And the second distribution - Fedora - is free and for the community.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux is still open source. The company hosts the source code on several FTP servers, from which several independent development teams download it and compile their distributions based on it: CentOS, Oracle Linux, CERN and Scientific Linux. They have all the stability benefits of a commercial distribution, but do not have access to software and support from Red Hat.

In December 2002, an interesting distribution appears - CRUX. His main goal was to keep it as simple as possible, a trend that was very popular at the time. CRUX was very lightweight and focused more on the developer than the average user. While other distributions saw exponential growth and competition to be the best replacement for Windows, CRUX remained simple and minimal. And it is interesting to us because it became the basis for the now very popular ArchLinux.

On December 18, a new version of the Linux kernel, 2.6, was announced. This version introduced support for PAE, new processors, improved support for 64-bit processors, increased the maximum file system size to 16 TB, added the EXT4 file system and more.

Even at that time, Linux distributions were good enough, but they were still very far from ideal for those who liked Microsoft products. So a new philosophy was needed to bring Linux closer to the average user. For example Ubuntu.

The goal of Ubuntu, a distribution based on Debian, was to create an easy-to-use desktop linux desktop which could be used regular user with little experience in this system. With the release of Ubuntu 4.04 on October 20, 2004, this concept was realized.

2006 - 2012 - the rise and fall of Ubuntu

During this period, many distributions have become more stable and continue to improve. There are also many new distributions. One of them, the first version of which was released in 2006, is very popular today. This is Linux Mint. It was based on Ubuntu and contained both free and proprietary software. This greatly simplified the installation of codecs, drivers and other components for beginners. The developers of the distribution tried to include new programs in it, and also listened to the opinions of their users, which won the support of the community.

In the meantime, a new version of the KDE4 Desktop Environment has been released and has been met with criticism from users due to its lack of stability. Even Linus himself stated that this version of KDE breaks everything and provides only half of the features of the previous version. However, users started using KDE4 with the Plasma environment and modern look, and by the release of version 4.2 in 2009, they had already forgotten about their negative experience.

On September 23, the most popular operating system based on the Linux kernel was released, although 90% of users have no idea that they are using Linux. Of course it's Android. Version 1.0 was released for the HTC Dream and could do everything you would expect from a modern smartphone, but it was very bad. Most of the bugs were fixed in version 1.1, but only starting from version 1.5 android system began to conquer the world of smartphones.

Throughout this time, Ubuntu has become stronger and stronger. It regularly topped the list of Linux distributions, gained more and more fans, and was fairly easy to use. But then, one sunny April day, Ubuntu 14.04 was released, it came with a new default environment - Unity. Gnome 3 and KDE 4 have never received as much negativity as Unity. We can say that at that time almost everyone hated Unity. But Canonical did not abandon their idea immediately, and the shell became quite usable.

After many years of development in the 2.6 branch, the 3.0 kernel version has finally been released. And no, there were no significant changes in it. It's just that Linus and the community have decided that the 2.6.* numbering has become too complicated and it's time to change the number.

The failure of KDE4 is not the only failure in the development of Linux environments. After it, one could say that developers should have learned from the experience of others and already know what their audience likes. But this clearly does not apply to the Gnome development team, which released Gnome 3 in April 2012. Now Gnome users were very unhappy with the interface changes and switched to KDE or used older versions of Gnome. But in next versions Gnome has become much better, and the developers of Linux Mint decided to keep the old look of Gnome with new features and created their own environment - Cinnamon.

2012-2018 - Linux and games

In our linux time almost completely conquered the server market and became even more attractive to home users. One factor in Linux's appeal to the average person is gaming. In February 2013, Valve, the creator of a major game distribution platform, released a Linux version of its Steam client. At that time, most games could only be run through the Windows emulator, and those games that were for Linux, as a rule, were of little interest to anyone.

A few years later, SteamOS, the Linux-based operating system for Valve's game consoles, was released. There are currently over 3,000 games available for Linux on Steam. Valve also recently started work on integrating a Windows game emulator into Steam, which will make it even easier to run them, given that support for many libraries from DirectX 10 and 11 has recently been added to this emulator.

New distributions continue to appear at the same rate as before. Some of them are interesting. For example Manjaro, which is based on Arch Linux. He appeared in November 2013, but despite his youth, he already occupies a leading position in popularity in many tops. Its advantage is that it simplifies the installation and configuration of ArchLinux, but at the same time retains its flexibility and some advantages. In addition to Manjaro, many new interesting distributions have been released, such as Antergos, ElementaryOS, Deepin Linux and others, which are now popular among users.

As for the Linux kernel, in 2015 the version was again changed to 4.0. Again, there were no major changes, a vote was taken, and the community decided that the kernel version should be changed. Significant changes during this period include the addition of UEFI support, improved work with new hardware, the addition of security systems, porting of subsystems required for Android, improved Btrfs stability, and much more.

In 2013, the Ubuntu development company decided to try their hand at the mobile market and released mobile version Ubuntu - Ubuntu Touch. The advantages of the operating system should have been the ability to turn a smartphone into full computer when connected to a screen via HDMI. A separate Unity 8 shell was developed for it, a Mir display server instead of X Window was developed, and several smartphones were even released. But nothing came of the project, it was closed in 2017 after Smasung released his DEX. In addition, in version 17.10, the Ubuntu developers decided to abandon the use of Unity and returned to Gnome, and instead of their Mir display server, the community-developed Wayland, which is also being developed to replace the outdated Xorg, will now be used.

conclusions

Unfortunately, our excursion into the past of Linux has come to an end. We saw old Linux distributions and learned how it all began. It is not known what will happen in the future, but the Linux operating system is developing and is of interest to more and more people and companies. This is not the end of the history of Linux creation and, most likely, it has a great future.

By tradition, at the end of each year, the CRN editors name the 25 best "captains" of the US IT business. In 2004, this list included the most enterprising channel leaders, executives from a number of leading vendor companies, as well as people who are idea generators, visionaries, thanks to which their companies grow and prosper even in difficult times. The first on this list was Linus Torvalds, whose efforts the Linux project gained unprecedented power in 2004.

Linus Torvalds is neither the CEO nor the chairman of the company. He does not have leadership status. It wasn't until 2003 that he first accepted a paid position in the Linux industry that he created.

But according to CRN, it is Torvalds, a 34-year-old programmer from Finland who created the Linux kernel, who deserves the title of the most influential leader of 2004. He earned this title by almost 15 years of selfless work on his brainchild. The past year has been a turning point for Linux and for the entire open source community. And Torvalds played an extremely important role in this.

The creation of the Linux 2.6 kernel took the OS to the next level, making it suitable for enterprise use, forcing Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, and other OS vendors to radically rethink their sales models.

Much has changed in Torvalds' life lately: he completed the Linux 2.6 kernel and for the first time received official status in the Linux developer community, becoming an employee of the Open Source Development Labs (a software development laboratory with open source, OSDL). The organization is vendor neutral and was initiated by IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Computer Associates International, Intel, and NEC.

Now Torvalds has a position and a business card confirming his official status. But all this did not affect his usual way of life. Torvalds' departure from the microprocessor company Transmeta and his work at OSDL has allowed him to devote his time to developing the Linux kernel, and to his family as he works from home.

“Initially, I planned to take a year off from Transmeta at my own expense, so that I could focus only on working on version 2.6 and not be distracted by anything else,” says Torvalds. "Being with the OSDL has been a great way to keep health insurance, get paid, and be independent from providers."

For the open source community, this event played an important role. Linus's decision to go public at a difficult time for Linux developers - a period of sharp criticism of open source and constant scrutiny, prompted by the SCO Group's lawsuit against IBM - gave his followers confidence in the future. This once again proves the enormous influence of Torvalds on the fate of Linux.

Last June, Linus left California with his wife, Tove, and their three daughters (three, six, and seven) and settled in a quiet suburb of Portland, Oregon. He lives in a new house, furnished quite simply, without frills, with elements of Danish modernity. Torvalds also does not attach to clothes of great importance: he greeted the crowd of photographers who violated his privacy in shabby jeans. He seems to be amused by all this excitement around him.

Linus's home office has a private entrance at the back of the house, with a small kitchen and shelves for books that aren't stocked yet. The office windows overlook the backyard, where Torvalds is building a toy house for his daughters. Then there is a view of the forest. In this environment, which is not disturbed by any business problems or office routine, the sacred rite takes place - work on the Linux OS.

Linus usually sits in front of the monitor and, like a child, plays the keyboard - almost like in 1991, in Helsinki, when he first conceived the core of his OS. But today, Torvalds conducts a worldwide orchestra of thousands of developers and piece by piece puts together a masterpiece that undermines the entire software establishment, hits Sun painfully, brings IBM back to life, and makes even Microsoft doubt its own immortality.

“Today, thanks to the efforts of Torvalds, Linux is the most successful project in the open source world. It challenges the software industry," says a lead developer on another successful open source project.
“Linus exemplifies how to set yourself up as a serious opponent of the strong players in the industry by skillfully managing the developer community and devoting yourself entirely to your business. He has shown the way for many professional open source developers. He's the reason JBoss started moving in this direction,” says Marc Fleury, CEO of JBoss, a J2EE application server developer.

Eric Raymond, author of The Cathedral & the Bazaar, a treatise on the open source movement, believes that Torvalds' talent and organizational skills allowed Linux to not only survive, but flourish, contrary to experts' predictions. “Linus has an amazing sense of purpose. He withstood the unbridled ambitions that ruined more than one project of this magnitude, says Raymond. - An even more important factor was the introduction of a decentralized code development model. It existed even before Torvalds, but he managed to systematize it.”

For Torvalds, this work is just a favorite thing: having all the rights to dispose of the Linux trademark, he does not receive a penny from them. It's paradoxical for an industry that produces billionaires: having revolutionized the software business, not being interested in the business at all.

“I don't think I could be the Bill Gates of this decade,” says Torvalds. - To do this, you need to stand at the very origins of a new technical direction. OS is not something new for a long time. Perhaps even more important to have a commercial streak. And this is what I have? Yes, I think least of all about business.

For all his modesty, Torvalds did work that brought the stagnant OS market back to life and made society think about the philosophical and social aspects of the question of how and for whom software products are created. Many representatives of the open source community believe that software is one of the benefits of civilization, like electricity, and therefore should not belong to a handful of capitalists, but to the whole society and be used for the benefit of society. There are also radicals who see the growing competition between Linux and proprietary operating systems as a struggle between good and evil, and Torvalds is considered the liberator of the world from slavery to Microsoft Windows.

True, Linus sees it quite differently. “I don’t have a philosophical view of open source at all. I'm more of a pragmatist in this regard. I truly believe that collaborative work and open sharing of knowledge results in higher quality development. But sometimes, even with this style of work, you have to resort to licensing, because there will always be people who can calmly appropriate someone else's work. The idea of ​​opportunity open exchange knowledge can be called "philosophy", but such an exchange actually exists, says Torvalds. - This is what distinguishes science from alchemy or witchcraft. I think those who don't believe it just don't want to take their blinders off."

The passion with which Linus writes codes makes him the number one open source developer.

“Linus is not only a brilliant programmer, he has good taste,” says Dirk Hondel, director of Linux OS and open source strategy at Intel, and one of the first developers of the Linux kernel almost from the project’s inception in 1991. “Torvalds finds simple and reasonable ways of solving problems, knows how to “sort things out”. He makes complex things simple. In my opinion, this is the main difference between an excellent programmer and just a good one.

Andrew Morton, Torvalds' right-hand man and number two developer on the Linux project, is now also responsible for the Linux kernel work in the OSDL. He says that Torvalds "keeps the bar high" and this is also the key to the success of the entire project. “He managed to achieve a state where everyone works without haste and under equal conditions. There is a self-organization of the entire community and the distribution of roles among its members ... when no personal differences can seriously harm the entire project,” says Morton.

But this is by no means an easy task, says Alan Cox of Red Hat, one of the key developers of Linux. "Linus has two strong personality traits: he's honest and he doesn't stand by his point of view when it's wrong," says Cox. -Torvalds is able to lead, he has excellent intuition when choosing technical solutions and a smart approach to dealing with people. It is known that managing programmers is like "herding a herd of cats." But Linus does a great job of it, without prejudice to anyone's interests.

Torvalds is calm and natural, he has little interest in industry-wide issues, but for all his flexibility, he always has his own point of view and is not afraid to express it out loud. He openly criticizes the Microsoft Windows code, and calls SCO a failing company that takes credit for others.

Torvalds is proud of the Linux 2.6 kernel, which was completed in December 2003. This version is enterprise-ready. In terms of performance, reliability and scalability, it is not inferior to commercial operating systems. It is suitable both for working with corporate applications and for any tasks related to the processing of large amounts of data. Torvalds prides himself on the formal search procedure he and Morton developed, which facilitates the introduction of updates and fixes to the OS kernel.

At the same time, Linus prefers to keep a safe distance from any commercial and legal issues, says Stuart Cohen, general manager of the OSDL. "He has absolutely no interest in being a chief advisor or VP of technology," Cohen said. - Torvalds already has enough to do. We try not to overload him, giving him complete freedom - he is free to do what he is interested in.”

Torvalds does not like to be in the spotlight, but occasionally participates in industry events. Trying to be extremely precise in everything - both in creating code and in determining his own role - Linus calls himself the chief technical officer, and not the chief architect, since he does not write himself so much as he supervises the work of other developers. And he is always ready to pay tribute to the programmers who played a prominent role in the development of open source, including the authors of the C language and the Unix operating system at Bell Labs - Brian Kernighan, Dennis Ritchie and Ken Thompson.

Torvalds does not consider himself a hero, but according to his friends, he is far from the worst role model. Hondel recalls how Torvalds was preparing to give a speech at the LinuxWorld Expo one day, when he suddenly disappeared just before going on stage. Panic and confusion seized, but Torvalds' wife, who often travels with him with her daughters, intervened and reassured him, saying that he ran to the car for diapers.

This is all very typical of Torvalds, Hondell says. Despite world fame, Linus is completely devoid of consciousness of his own greatness and does not walk surrounded by a retinue of assistants, like many celebrities. “Torvalds is a madman, worse than that, he is an outstanding madman. But, fortunately, despite this, he is a completely normal person and good friend Hondel says. “It’s enough to see him once with the children - and you understand that he remains the same as he always was - just a good guy.”

In January of this year, the FAS acknowledged that Microsoft dominates the operating system (OS) market for personal computers(PC) Russia. According to the data of 2015, which operated by the FAS, 95.6% of desktop PCs and laptops were running Windows. Apple had 2.5% of the market, but its Mac OS is not easy to install anywhere other than Mac computers. real Microsoft competitors, the most serious of which is Linux, occupied only 1.9% of the market.

It would seem that the project to create a free OS failed. In fact, he is rapidly conquering the world. "Many people don't even know they use Linux," Finn Linus Torvalds said in an interview with Linux magazine. Pick up a smartphone - if it's Android, it's built on the Linux kernel. Climb the sites of giants like Google, Amazon, Facebook or some small obscure firms - they use Linux. Linux runs the International Space Station, powers most supercomputers, and was taken over by the New York Stock Exchange in 2007. Over continuous improvement free system tens of thousands of programmers around the world work for free.

Employee Microsoft once told Torvalds that his portrait is used in their office as a target for darts. Steve Ballmer, while he was the CEO of Microsoft, publicly attacked Linux. Probably because she was indifferent to him. After quitting, he admitted in an interview with Fortune: Linux is an increasing threat to Windows and is already "looming in the rearview mirror." Ballmer's successor Satya Nadella took a different path: he launched the Microsoft Loves Linux initiative to adapt software to each other.

But Apple, on the contrary, at the end of last year banned the installation of Linux and other operating systems, except for Mac OS and Windows 10, on their new computers. And before that, Steve Jobs suggested that Torvalds become one of the developers of Mac OS and introduce into the process the same unusual development principles that Linux has. But the Finnish programmer refused. “I think [Jobs] was very surprised that his argument about Apple's market share didn't work,” Torvalds recalled.

He has his own views on what is open source software and what is his, Torvalds, role in computer world. He created software that is free and on which he did not expect to earn a cent (however, he ended up making millions). But even when money was tight in the late 1990s, Torvalds turned down the $10 million he would have received for joining the board of directors of one of the newborn Linux companies.

In January of this year, Torvalds launched the development of the 5th version of the Linux kernel. “Changing the number does not mean anything special. If you want an official reason, I ran out of fingers and toes, so "4.21" turned into "5," InternetUA quoted him as saying.

Mesmerized by the calculator

Linus Torvalds was born on December 28, 1969 in Helsinki and should have become a journalist - like almost all of his relatives. Her father was a radio journalist, her mother was an editor at a news agency, her uncle worked for Finnish television, her grandfather was the editor-in-chief of a newspaper, and her sister, an employee of a news agency, also opened her own translation agency specializing in translating news reports.

Family legend says that Linus's great-grandfather, journalist and writer Ernst von Wendt, fought for the Whites in 1917 and was captured by the Reds. Father Niels, on the contrary, was an ideological communist. Some children were even banned from playing with Linus, and he himself was teased at school because of his father's radicalism. When the parents divorced, the children did not notice this too much: the father lived in Moscow for a long time.

A rare exception to the family profession was Leo's maternal grandfather Waldemar Turnqvist, professor of statistics at the University of Helsinki. My grandson really enjoyed watching him work on the calculator. Unlike modern ones, those calculators needed time to calculate, and they blinked lights. The sight fascinated young Linus. In 1981, instead of a calculator, my grandfather bought the first computer, a Commodore VIC-20.

The rarest surname

In the biography "Just for Fun. The Tale of an Unexpected Revolutionary" (M.: Eksmo-press, 2002) Linus Torvalds, who belongs to the Swedish-speaking minority of Finland, talks about the origin of his surname:<...>I made it myself, using my middle name as an improvised material. At birth, he was named Ole Thorwald Alice Saxberg. He was born without a father (Sachsberg is his mother's maiden name) and then received the surname Karanko from the man my great-grandmother married. Farfar (as the Finns call their paternal grandfather. - Vedomosti) did not like his stepfather so much that he changed his surname: he added the letter “s” to the name Torvald to give the surname a more solid - as it seemed to him - sound. The name Thorvald means "Thor's dominion". It would be better if he created a surname from scratch, and did not do alterations: the addition of "s" deprives the word of its original meaning and confuses both Swedes and Finns, who cannot figure out how to pronounce this surname. They want to write it not Torvalds, but Thorwalds. There are only 21 Torvalds in the world, and we are all relatives. We all face this family problem.”

Torvalds recalls that he was not an outcast at school and was quite dexterous - he was willingly taken to the team in the Finnish version of bouncers. But at the same time he was a typical nerd: “He looked like a beaver, wore glasses, dressed insipidly, most of the time my hair looked bad, and the rest of the days it was terrible.” It is not surprising that he became interested in computers. This infatuation didn't go away as he got older. Because of the Finnish weather, there is nothing to do in the country except to program, have sex or drink, Torvalds joked. With the second, he did not really develop - hackers in those years had not yet become fashionable, he did not particularly like to drink. It remains to write codes.

Computer investment

When Grandpa passed away, Linus took over his computer by default. Then he bought a Sinclair QL. The family did not show off: Torvalds recalls how her mother periodically pawned the only value - a share of the Helsinki Telephone Company (issued to each owner of the phone) worth about $ 500. Having become famous, he will make the only exception for this company and enter its board of directors.

In 1990, Torvalds entered the University of Helsinki. He bought a computer with a 386 Intel processor, for which I had to get into a loan for several years. It was worth it: it was a powerful machine for its time.

The university had a Unix operating system. Torvalds' computer runs the free Minix OS. Torvalds did not like how she connected from home via modem to the university network, nor how she worked with the hardware of his computer. For example, Minix was designed for 16-bit processors, while Intel 386 was 32-bit.

Torvalds wrote several programs to solve these problems. But they required other programs: for example, his solution for working with the institute's network did not know how to write files to disk. Finally additional features so many were created that it dawned on Torvalds: he had in his hands a five-minute replacement for Minix. But he still worked with Minix until he accidentally messed it up: he wrote a command that corrupted HDD in the place where the OS was written. Then Torvalds began to use his Linux as the main OS.

Free software ideologues

It cannot be said that Torvalds created the operating system from scratch. He created the core of the system, that is, what connects the programs with the hardware of the computer and allows them to work. This is the base on which you can hang many different add-ons. There is no one Linux operating system like Windows 10 - there are many operating systems based on the Linux kernel, some of which use the word Linux in the name.

Torvalds himself, in order to create a full-fledged OS on his kernel, used a set of foreign programs under the auspices of the General Public License (GPL), developed by Richard Stallman. Torvalds reverently calls him "the god of free software."

Stallman started working on a free alternative to Unix in 1984. "free" was keyword. His task was to ensure that no one could appropriate the source codes and demand payment for them. Stallman created the ideological and legal framework for such software, the Free Software Manifesto, and wrote the General Public License (GPL) with lawyers. It says that if a programmer used code licensed under the GPL, then he must provide everyone with the source code of the resulting product, the right to modify and distribute it. The next programmer who used GPL-licensed software for his programs, etc., will have to do the same.

Torvalds, using Stallman's work, also licensed his kernel under the GPL. Therefore, in 2001, the general director Microsoft Ballmer cursed: “Linux is a cancer that devours all the intellectual property it touches. According to the license rules, if you use any components of open source software, you must open source all the software you have” (cited by Cnet).

Why Linux is popular

Torvalds was initially reluctant to distribute his work. But he boasted of his success on an Internet forum and, so that he would not be considered a talker, posted the code.

His creation captivated other programmers, who began to put it on their computers and offer improvements. It was very far from perfection indeed. One day, Torvalds received a letter that praised Linux for a long time, and at the end said that the drive driver contained a bug that had just destroyed his hard drive.

The system became more and more popular. By that time, Torvalds had long been working on Linux not alone. More and more people understood the code and offered their improvements, and they did it absolutely free. There is a system that allows volunteers to work on new version Linux, along with other developers, to see changes made by others and, in case of errors, revert to previous versions of files. Once upon a time, Linux had 10,000 lines of code. Now the bill is in the tens of millions. In 2017, about 80,000 Linux enhancements were proposed, 90% of them by paid programmers, and 30% of them worked for Intel, wrote The New Yorker.

Torvalds knows Linux so well that proposed changes are often accepted or rejected from sight: "It's like looking into a book and not seeing individual letters or words, but grasping the whole sentence" (quoted by Bloomberg). But if the changes are serious, then he needs 10–25 minutes to test them. Although Torvalds has many assistants who weed out proposals, he sometimes has to review 30 changes a day.

With such a system, Linux has attracted the attention of major players. Sun Microsystems was the first among large companies to install software based on the Linux kernel on their equipment, then IBM, Informix, Oracle... Small companies were also interested. The rise of online commerce in the 1990s spawned a need for server software. Previously, you had to spend thousands of dollars on it, now you could install it for a penny by adapting Linux. Anyone can start their own online business.

Torvalds believes that the basis for Linux's success is that it doesn't have a niche. Once upon a time, Unix made a bet on the supercomputers of the military, banks, financial institutions, he says in his autobiography “Just for Fun. The Story of an Unexpected Revolutionary. This software cost a lot of money. Then came Microsoft with its relatively inexpensive rates and began to work everywhere. “But imagine a liquid organism that floods any discovered space. If one of the niches is lost, it doesn't matter. The organism fills the whole world, flowing into all holes. The same thing is happening with Linux now. She appears wherever there is interest in her.<...>It can be found on supercomputers in all sorts of cool places like the National Laboratory. Fermi and NASA. But there it flowed from the server space. And in turn, I got into it from the world of desktop computers - this is where I started. At the same time, Linux is also found on embedded devices, from anti-lock brakes to watches. Watch her fill the world."

Of course, another reason for the popularity is the image of Robin Hood. On the one hand, a monster corporation Microsoft, rumors of spying on users, etc., and on the other hand, free software and a humble Finn.

How Torvalds Became a Millionaire

“I struggled to scrape together the monthly payments for my computer, which were calculated for three years,” Torvalds recalled in a biography. But he considered it wrong to take money for Linux. The reason for this was Finland, with its attitude towards greed, and a stubborn communist father, and an unwillingness to make those who helped him make the program better pay, Torvalds reasoned.

There are so-called bloomers on the Internet (from English shareware) - free software that asks: "If you like me, send money to the author." In Linux, there was no such request, but many wrote to Torvalds that they would gladly support him financially. At that time, a letter from the “maximum repost” series was circulating on the Internet: supposedly the boy Craig was dying of cancer, but he could be cheered up by sending a postcard. Torvalds jokingly asked to drop him a couple of lines instead of currency. When mailbox began to burst from postcards from all over the world, the family suspected that Linus was doing something important. He himself did not talk much about Linux, despite all the accusations that his modem constantly occupied the telephone line.

Torvalds lived and dined with his mother. It had about $5,000 in tuition loans, about $50 a month in credit for a computer, and some money for beer. The problem of the loan was solved by itself: a friend announced on the Internet a subscription to pay for Torvalds' computer, and he, as an exception, accepted the money. And he paid the rest from his salary. There is a Swedish-speaking minority in Finland to which the Torvaldses belong. In 1992, a course in the Faculty of Informatics needed an assistant who spoke Swedish and was computer savvy. There were only two of them in the department.

Three years later, Torvalds became a full-time researcher at the university: he received money for research, which by and large came down to improving Linux.

Thanks to teaching, Torvalds got married. Tuva, a kindergarten teacher and six-time Finnish karate champion, signed up for his special course "Introduction to Computer Science". The first task was to send an e-mail to the teacher - it was not as easy as it is now. In a letter, Tuva invited him on a date. At first, they did not part at all, and Torvalds even abandoned programming.

In 1997, Torvalds and his family moved to the US to work for Transmeta, a company that develops low power processors. One of the co-owners of this company is Paul Allen, who, together with Bill Gates, founded Microsoft. Torvalds' task was to maintain the project's Linux infrastructure.

Torvalds never had more than $5,000 in his bank account until the beginning of this century, when he became an overnight millionaire. Just because Linux is free doesn't mean you can't make money on it. Even when the project was in its infancy, the core could be downloaded for free from the Internet - or you could buy its recording on a floppy disk or CD from enterprising guys. You can make money on Linux installation services, you can customize Linux for the needs of a particular company for a fee. The latter is handled by Red Hat, which went public on August 11, 1999. And before that, as a sign of gratitude, she gave Torvalds an option for a block of shares.

On the first day of trading, quotes doubled. But he had the right to sell papers not earlier than in 180 days. Fortunately, they have been growing all this time (in 2009, Red Hat will enter the S&P 500), and the cost of Torvalds' stake has reached $5 million.

Soon another company, VA Linux, went public and similarly gave Torvalds an option. On a wave of optimism, the stock immediately rose 10 times to $300. But it turned out to be too much, and the dot-com bubble was starting to deflate. From $300, the shares began to fall, and at a minimum a year later they gave $6.6. Torvalds recalls how terrible it was for 180 days to watch your stake become cheaper, and you could not sell it.

With the proceeds from the shares, the family (now the author of Linux has three daughters) bought a house in America, and Torvalds was addicted to keeping in the garage, in addition to the family Pontiac, also a convertible, usually yellow.

In 2012, Torvalds won the Millennium Technology Prize, the largest technology award in the world. He shared the €1.2 million prize with that year's other laureate, Japanese stem cell researcher Shinya Yamanaka.

But Torvalds' main source of income, after he left Transmeta in 2003, was the Linux Foundation (in those years it was called Open Source Development Labs). His job is to evaluate other people's suggestions for improving Linux: “I myself haven't written code in years. Everything I write is just fixing other people's mistakes, I make changes to one or two lines, my contribution is to combine different pieces of code ”(quote from The Register online edition). The fund is filled with donations, including from companies using Linux. According to The New Yorker, in 2017 his budget was $50 million, and Torvalds received $1.6 million from the fund in 2016.

Rule for a rude person

“Managing a project with hundreds of thousands of developers, I act exactly the same as in my student days: I don’t entrust anything to anyone, but just wait for someone to volunteer,” Torvalds said in a biography. “I approve or reject their work, but for the most part I let events take their course. If two people are leading similar directions, then I accept the work of both to see which one gets used. Sometimes both are used, but they begin to develop in different directions. Once there was a strong competition between two people: each of them insisted that his patches be used, which conflicted with the opponent's patches. I stopped accepting patches from both until one of the developers lost interest. This is what King Solomon would have done if he had run a kindergarten.”

This approach has proven to be effective on a Linux scale. But when Torvalds was assigned to manage a department of 15 employees at Transmeta, he showed his complete unsuitability. Three months later, he was quietly demoted back to the programmers.

But not everyone likes him as the main coordinator of Linux, since the style of his communication with colleagues for many years remained “student”: the programmer did not restrain himself in expressions.

In 2013, one of the developers even wrote a letter to Torvalds asking him not to insult or intimidate his colleagues. “If you want me to 'act professionally', I can tell you that I'm not interested,” Torvalds replied. I am sitting at home in my office, dressed in a dressing gown. I'm not going to start wearing a tie, and just as I'm not going to engage in false politeness, lying, office politics and sitting up, passive aggressiveness and other buzzwords. Because THIS is what “acting professionally” is all about: people do all sorts of unpleasant things because they are forced to follow ordinary impulses in an unnatural way” (quoted by The New Yorker).

In 2015, Torvalds' closest associate, programmer Greg Kroah-Hartman, wrote the Conflict Resolution Code, in part to protect others from harsh language. Torvalds approved the innovation, but did not begin to restrain himself. At the end of that year, Sarah Sharpe and Matthew Gareth left the Linux kernel development team due to rough treatment. “I am a really unpleasant person. Some people think I'm so cute and some are shocked to see otherwise. I'm not a nice person and I don't care about you. I care about the technology and the core,” Torvalds responded (quoted from The Register).

Last October, the kernel developers were due to attend the Linux Maintainer Summit. Torvalds visited her for 20 consecutive years. But this time he mixed up the date and planned a vacation with his family. This was discovered ahead of time, but he refused to change plans for the sake of the summit and left for Scotland. Then its participants decided not to gather in Vancouver, but in Edinburgh, closer to Torvalds, so that he could still join them for a while. The story was heatedly discussed in programming circles, and The New Yorker journalists got a meeting with Torvalds and asked him questions about this incident and his relationship with colleagues. In September 2018—before the article even came out—Torvalds apologized for his behavior, promised to think about how to change it, and announced that he was temporarily stepping back from coordinating Linux.

In the same month, a new code of conduct for Linux developers was unveiled, and in October, Torvalds returned to the team (he also visited the forum).

Now the community lives by the new rules. In the past, immediacy and directness in expressing an opinion was considered natural and useful in open source software development. Now criticism must be expressed constructively, and after hearing it, it must be carefully considered. Derogatory comments, personal attacks, expressions with sexual overtones are prohibited. Torvalds is still trying to restrain himself.

Many of those who switched to Linux now do not want to go back to the operating system. Windows system. This is due to the availability of this operating system even for novice users. If you want to install Linux, then you need to download one of the many distributions that are written based on the Linux kernel. We give examples of the best of them and talk about the features of the system.

What is Linux and why are there so many operating systems based on it?

GNU/Linux was designed as a multi-user and multi-tasking kernel for various operating systems. For which programmers have created many graphic managers and software shells. The distribution (operating system) determines what you will use the computer for. Each Linux-based operating system is distinguished by its functional part. A single part of all distributions is the "Terminal", this is their main part. With it, you can:

• install and launch programs;
• add repositories for storing software;
• configure configuration files and the distribution itself.

Now this system is especially popular among programmers, it is also very often used for servers.

It began to be widely distributed in home computers relatively recently, having won the love of users due to its wide customization options: some versions of distributions can be run directly from a flash drive, others are suitable for weak computers. Distributions differ in their functionality, size and appearance.

Not all Linux-based operating systems can be downloaded. For example, Google Chrome OS (yes, there is such an operating system, not just a browser) comes pre-installed on some models of Samsung, HP laptops, etc. AT open access official distributions of this operating system can not be found. But there are many forks and copies. We will not link to such sites in this review. For each distribution in the review, we give a download link to the official website or the official community.

Why are users ditching Windows for Linux?

Most often, the advantages of Linux-based operating systems are called:

1. Absence. This is not to say that this system is generally impossible to hack, but hackers rarely show interest in Linux. There are a few rutiches that help infiltrate servers, but they almost never run on home PCs. The fact that the system is safe is also evidenced by the fact that not a single anti-virus utility has databases specifically for Linux. Basically, programs are configured to search malicious code, which was transferred from using flash drives or disks.
2. Almost all distributions are distributed free of charge, which allows people with multiple home devices not to spend a lot of money on licenses. In this case, you can regularly reinstall distributions, test them and change them. An added benefit is that Linux software is also free. And a nice bonus is the lack of advertising inserts and third party programs, which are loaded into the PC's memory along with the main utility.
3. The system is diverse and unlimited possibilities for customizing the appearance. In addition to many distributions, you can install different desktop environments on your PC. This will help you change them according to need or mood.
4. Repository built into the system. His idea formed the basis of the app store Google Play. From it you can install the most different programs without resorting to the help of websites and third-party programs. The only inconvenience that is noticeable immediately after the transition from Windows is the lack of familiar utility names.
5. The system is convenient on the external interface and separating programs in the menu. Each utility occupies its own section in the menu, which makes it easier to find it. These small pleasant moments help to make the work much more convenient.
6. Almost all the necessary drivers are built into the Linux kernel. for peripheral equipment. You can install any device and it will immediately start working. You do not have to look for drivers, as for Windows, download them on another computer, so that later the equipment starts working without failures. There will be no inconvenience even when connecting a new network card.
7. By default, the system encrypts disks on its own., which allows you to protect files when your computer falls into the wrong hands. In Windows, this option is available only with the help of third-party programs.

These positive sides enough to make you want to try out the Linux kernel operating system. But before choosing a distribution, you should familiarize yourself with the features of each shell and carefully study the shortcomings of the OS.

Disadvantages of Linux

To begin with, let's look at situations that the programmers who created Linux distributions could not handle. Such troubles are rare, but for novice users they can be fatal.

1. Poor compatibility with a number of modern devices. Most printers, scanners, routers, and other devices are built for Windows. Therefore, they may not always work correctly. Users can change the distribution kit themselves so that the connected devices work correctly. If you do not know how to independently adjust the OS settings in the same terminal, then you should just download and upload the modern version of the distribution.
2. Incorrect operation of the graphics subsystem. After waking up from sleep mode, when using discrete graphics cards, a freeze may be observed. The only way to get rid of this problem is by rebooting. Problems with video cards most often appear after updating the kernel or components responsible for graphics output.
3. Despite the fact that many are sewn into the core, they can stop installing automatically or deleted after a system update. This problem is solved by rolling back to old version distribution or installing a new shell.
4. Incorrect operation of the cooling system in laptops. Due to improper management, coolers start to make noise or do their job poorly.
5. Steam for Linux is developing very slowly, users cannot download and purchase any music and applications. If you choose a paid program, then there may be problems entering card data (not all plastic is accepted by the store). Although it should be noted that the store Windows applications is not better developed, problems may arise when using it. But in the latter case, there are many alternative sources for programs.

In order not to encounter these problems, it is worth installing only modern versions of operating systems. For most ordinary users, such troubles can be a reason to abandon the Linux OS.

Although it is worth noting that in recent years the shell interface has become more and more friendly. The developers are trying to solve the problems listed above, but so far it has not been possible to completely get rid of them.

Overview of the best Linux distributions with download links from official sites

Before you install Linux, you should familiarize yourself with the features of its distributions. Each of them has its pros and cons.

elementary OS

If the design of the operating system is important to you, then you should opt for Elementary. Visually, the desktop resembles Mac OS, which makes it look expensive and beautiful. Among other distributions, this option stands out only in design and this is its drawback. Although it is for this that users fell in love with Elementary.

It is a light and handy system suitable even for low power machines. By default, it does not have the largest, but well-thought-out set of programs:

• Midori browser;
• file manager Pantheon Files;
• media player Totem;
• Geary mail client;
• Shotwell photo manager.

This system performs everyday user tasks at 100%. In addition, the support of fans of this OS led to the fact that they began to develop their own software products inside the shell. But at the same time, users do not yet have opportunities for customization and fine tuning shells.

Linux Mint

This option is useful for onboarding users who for a long time worked with Windows. They are similar to the taskbar area, navigation system, and desktop. Several working environments have been released for this system, from which you can choose the most convenient one. Mint is a different version of Ubuntu. It has several advantages over other distributions:

• this assembly is quite common, has good support from users and developers;
• free distribution;
• multiple working environments can be easily switched using a lightweight and user-friendly graphical interface;
• there are several built-in functions: plugins for fast loading applications, their launch and update;
• frequently updated and modified.

There are two shortcomings: it is developed by a team of enthusiasts and there are no public security bulletins for this system. These shortcomings do not affect the operation of the operating system. The absence of a company responsible for development can even be called an advantage - the creators of the system are closer to ordinary users.

Manjaro Linux

Several operating systems have been released based on Arch Linux. One of them was Manjaro. It has a number of features:

• simple installation process;
• automatic hardware detection;
• extensive desktop customization;
• work stability;
• the ability to install multiple cores;
• special scenarios.

Two versions are offered for the desktop, one of them is used for advanced users. It is a fast and popular system with a large number of users, which allows you to get good support from the community. Inexperienced users in this system will be comfortable with a tool for downloading programs - AUR. It allows you to do without repositories.

ubuntu

This distribution is the most common and popular. Almost all Linux users have tried it at least once. The system is ideal for beginners who just want to familiarize themselves with the possibilities of distributions. There is nothing superfluous in the interface, including the developers got rid of the terminal. For inexperienced users, it may be a disadvantage to use the command line to work with the system.

Benefits of Ubuntu:

• free distribution, programs and components can also be freely downloaded;
• the installation process does not take more than 10 minutes;
• the interface is easy to understand, it is understandable;
• nothing happens in the system without the user's permission, so the risk of virus infection is minimal;
• can be used on one computer with Windows, the possibility of multiboot is sewn into the system;
• the assembly includes a sufficient set of programs;
• communities and forums allow you to solve any problem.

The main disadvantage of this version is the instability of work. Many refuse the distribution due to the failures that accompany almost every system update. New versions often give errors that other users have not encountered before. After this version of Linux, it will be difficult to use other distributions.

openSUSE

This version is most commonly used for commercial purposes. The developers have released the source code of their system so that programmers from all over the world can improve it. This allowed for frequent releases of new versions. First of all, the openSUSE product is interesting for beginners who have not used Linux before.

You can install the system even on weak computers. Her minimum requirements are: 3 GB of free hard disk space, a Pentium 4 1.6 GHz processor and only 1 GB of RAM. The management of this system is concentrated in the YaST center. Inexperienced users should not install the Tumbleweed version, as it often causes problems. It's best to run on Leap, which is updated less frequently and is more stable.

Steam OS - Linux for games!

Big problem for Linux users is that few games have been released for this operating system. For this reason, Debian-based Steam OS was released for gamers. It is used by those who want to reduce resource consumption during games. In this version of the shell, the features and functions of the Steam platform were used. You can play with keyboard or joystick.

The disadvantage of this version is that the computer cannot be used to perform different tasks. After installing this operating system, it turns into a gaming machine. You can install the software to perform other tasks, but it will not work correctly. Another disadvantage is the low prevalence of the system and poor support. In addition, your processor must support 64-bit architecture.

Tails - for complete anonymity on the Internet

Based on Debian, another system has been released - Tails. It is intended for those who need to remain anonymous online. Of the advantages of this system: it does not need strong equipment, it is stable. Tails is ideal for surfing the Internet and solving everyday tasks.

CentOS 7

If you want to find free alternative Red Hat Enterprise Linux, then you should download CentOS 7 on your PC. Most often, the choice for this system falls when the user has already worked with Red Hat, but was forced to abandon it due to a failure. In this case, you can use in both versions the same programs. You do not have to modify the system or look for a replacement for your favorite utilities.

Debian

This version is loved due to its stability and security. The development team is impressive, but system updates are rare. This system is suitable for remote administration, so it is often put on servers. For beginners, the assembly is difficult, it has too many settings and programs. At the same time, the distribution kit has several positive qualities:

• stability;
• many architectures are supported;
• safety in use;
• more than a thousand software packages;
• easily updated;
• works quickly and efficiently even on outdated computers.

Unlike other distributions, Debian will have to be configured right after installation. Understanding the number of options can only experienced user. The popularity of the distribution is maintained only due to its stability, but in terms of interface and usability, it is outdated. Operating system updates are rare, but downloading and installing them is extremely easy.

Fedora

If you want to be one of the first to test new things from the world of Linux, then you should install the Fedora distribution. He is also associated with Red Hat, which uses this version as a free testing ground for new products. Linux founder Torvalds Linus himself uses this distribution as his main distribution, and you should not trust his choice.

The only downside to this system is that there are only a few bugs after the update. The distribution is good for home use. It does not fail after the introduction of new products. It keeps up with the times and is suitable for computers with different capacities.

Choose a distribution based on your wishes. Each version of Linux is good in its own way, but not without flaws. You can write about your experience of using distributions of this operating system in the comments. If you liked the article, please share it with your friends.