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Pronouncing the word "Linux" is one of the great mysteries of the Linux world. Americans pronounce the name Linus with a long i sound, as in pie. However, because Linux was originally based on a small, PC-based implementation of UNIX called "Minix" (pronounced with a short i), the actual pronunciation of Linux preserves this characteristic - it's LIH-nucks. Think Finnish. Linux is a high-quality, multi-user, multi-tasking, 32-bit or 64-bit, Unix-like operating system kernel developed by Linus Torvalds and thousands of other software developers cooperating via the Internet. The Linux kernel is distributed with an extensive range of applications and systems software in what are known to Linux users as distributions. Some of the more well known distributions are Fedora, RedHat, Mandriva, Debian, SuSe (Novell), Slackware, Mklinux, Stampede Linux, TurboLinux, Gentoo and Linspire. For more on linux distributions try one these sites: lwn.net/Distributions, distrowatch.com, www.linux.org/dist or shots.osdir.com. The graphical user interface is comprised of a display manager, window manager and desktop applications. The main X11, Xorg window managers are Enlightenment, WindowMaker, Blackbox, Ice, AfterStep, Lesstif, and more Themes. The popular desktops are Gnome and KDE, small windows managers include ICEwm and Xfce. For users wanting to try Linux or who want to fast track to a Linux system, several developers have created live Linux Boot CDs such as ADIOS, Knoppix, RSBAC live CD and Xen. For those who like a small version of Linux that runs in less than 128MBs then try Puppy Linux. Users in Australia can access mirror copies of some these sites via the AARNet Mirror or PlanetMirror. Linux mirrors of Debian, RedHat, Slackware, TurboLinux, and window/desktop mirrors of GNOME, KDE and XFree86. For those of you that must have MS Windows, Linux developers have created emulators and virtual machines, such as Wine, VMware. For the Linux users there is The User-mode Linux Kernel which allows you to run different versions of Linux within virtual machines. Alternatively Xen is a paravirtualising virtual machine monitor that allows you to securely run multiple virtual machines. Linux users wanting trusted systems should investigate GRsecurity, LIDS, RSBAC and SELinux. If you require mandatory access controls policies then check out Security Enhanced Linux (SELinux) from the USA National Security Agency. If you like a simple set of rules granting subjects privileges to access objects then Linux Intrusion Detection System LIDS is for you. While GRsecurity is probably the easiest for the beginner to trusted systems. Where as Rule Set Based Access Control RSBAC has advanced features such as defining roles for different types of users. The Linux kernel together with most other software in a distribution is protected by copyright, and made available under the GNU General Public Licence (GPL). The GPL allows you to copy the software concerned as often as you wish, and to distribute copies to others as often as you wish, provided that you do not restrict the rights of those receiving the software. Precise details can be found in the GPL that comes with Linux, or from the Free Software Foundation. Some of the other software in a typical Linux distribution may have a different licence, and could be public domain software, software under a licence similar to the GPL, or software protected by a conventional pay-per-copy licence.
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About
Linux
Linux®
is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.