Open source code makes a lot of difference when it comes to how you can tailor an OS, adjust it to meet your needs, and fit it to the required tasks – whether large or huge. Credit: Shutterstock There are likely lots of people who doubt the power and versatility of Linux. Maybe their friends all use Windows. Maybe Linux doesn’t play any obvious role in their lives, and they may not even realize what Linux is. So what’s so special about Linux? To borrow the old Star Trek quote, Linux has gone where no OS has ever gone before. This holds true for a number of factors, including: its open source nature; its tailorability, which has led to something like 600 actively maintained distributions with many dominant “families” of related distributions; the flexibility that has allowed it to run on the tiniest devices; how it runs on nearly every supercomputer; and its dominance of the web. The beginning of Linux It all started with Linux Torvalds, the Finnish-American engineer who was the principle force behind Linux’s development. He began to dabble in computer programming when he was only 10 years old using his grandfather’s Commodore VIC-20, an 8-bit home computer that was first announced in 1980. In 1991, while studying at the University of Helsinki, Torvalds didn’t like using MS-DOS on the school’s computers and decided to create his own PC-based version of UNIX. He soon made it available for others to download – along with source code – so that they could modify it to match their own needs and preferences. This was the beginning of a new movement: open source software. This was only a couple of years after Tim Berners-Lee invented the first web server. His idea of creating a “universal linked information system” involved several concepts with a focus on the connections between all sorts of information. Berners-Lee developed the first web browser along with the language of the web –Hypertext Markup Language, or HTML – that is used to build web pages. It’s no big surprise that Linux dominates the web. But that’s only a start. It’s also quickly made it to the top spot on mobile phones, media streamers and routers. Its range is amazing. It runs on the tiniest devices and nearly every supercomputer in the world. And, as was covered in a recent post on NetworkWorld, it’s now making manufacturing more reliable, flexible and efficient. (See: Linux is moving into efficient and flexible manufacturing) Where is Linux going next? Linux is making headway in its popularity with increasingly appealing desktops, by moving into open source AI, through more stable and immutable distributions, and by increasing the number and variety of games available (e.g., those powered by SteamOS). Even those who have remained unaware of how Linux has come to dominate so much of the computing world may soon become admirers and fans. Related content how-to Making bash aliases easy to manage Aliases provide an easy way to reuse complicated or often-used commands. By Sandra Henry-Stocker Mar 21, 2024 4 mins Linux how-to Determining leap years on Linux Leap years are not quite as regular as we might have believed. A fairly simple Linux script can tell you whether a year will be a leap year or not. By Sandra Henry-Stocker Mar 18, 2024 4 mins Linux how-to How to ensure users periodically update their passwords on Linux Requiring password changes is a common security practice, and Linux systems admins can use the chage command to view and change password expiration information. By Sandra Henry-Stocker Mar 14, 2024 3 mins Linux news Linux hits 4% desktop user share While the desktop is not Linux's claim to fame, Linux still offers a huge number of distributions that can make your desktop computer work just like you'd want. By Sandra Henry-Stocker Mar 11, 2024 2 mins Linux PODCASTS VIDEOS RESOURCES EVENTS NEWSLETTERS Newsletter Promo Module Test Description for newsletter promo module. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe