Introductions

Introduce myself, ask the class to introduce themselves.

Why Do You Want To Learn About GNU/Linux?

What is GNU/Linux?

Linux is a "kernel" which is a small program that's the heart of the computer operating system. Let's quote from the source code:

WHAT IS LINUX?

  Linux is a Unix clone written from scratch by Linus Torvalds with
  assistance from a loosely-knit team of hackers across the Net.
  It aims towards POSIX compliance.

  It has all the features you would expect in a modern fully-fledged
  Unix, including true multitasking, virtual memory, shared libraries,
  demand loading, shared copy-on-write executables, proper memory
  management and TCP/IP networking.

GNU/Linux is an operating system that's built from the Linux kernel and many other programs. GNU/Linux is different from many other operating systems because you can get the source code and build it, learn from it, improve it, or cause problems.

What is Unix?

Unix is an operating system that was developed at Bell Laboratories in the early 1970's. It's a multi-user operating system, so many people can use it at the same time.

For many years Unix ran only on very expensive minicomputers, and even today Unix machines from companies such as Sun and HP can cost more than 1 million dollars.

Unix is used in many companies for very important jobs such as running large databases, accounting systems, billing systems, etc.

Unix History

Back in the early 1970's AT&T was the telephone monopoly in the US. They maintained a research lab called "Bell Labs" in New Jersey.

Dennis Ritchie, Ken Thompson.

UC Berkeley.

Free Software/Open Source History

Richard Stallman, GNU Project, GPL, Free Software Foundation.

Other Free Software/Open Source successes:

Apache webserver
BIND
perl, gcc

GNU/Linux History

Linux Torvalds. Linux Kernel Mailing List. Distros: SLS, Slackware, Red Hat.

What Makes Unix Special?

Elegant, consistent, software tools.

Do one thing and do it well.

Build your own tools, assemble small tools into larger ones.

What Makes Linux Special?

Unix power on cheap hardware. Learn about computers. Participate in improving it.

What Can I Do With GNU/Linux?

Does GNU/Linux Have Any Weaknesses?

Where Do I Go For More Info?

-- TobyCabot - 27 Feb 2003