Welcome To The World Of Linux!
Many of you might be new to Linux. I started playing with Linux some 3-4 Years ago. At first it was kind of difficult to understand how Linux worked but, once i understood the structure of Linux it was very easy to understand the rest. Linux was created by Linus Torvalds. He took Unix and modified 90 percent of the kernel and made it available to public for free as Open Source. Today there are many distributions of Linux. If you know a bit of programming, you can take a distribution, modify the kernel according to your liking and release it to public. My personal favorite and most widely used distribution is Ubuntu. Linux did not gain much popularity until it started coming out with GUI(Graphical User Interface). Ubuntu has developed in to very easy to use distribution. Most of the Linux Distributions are free but, there are certain Distributions that are free for public use but are paid for enterprise use. One such distribution is Red Hat Linux. The public version of Red Hat is free but the Red Hat Enterprise Edition is paid. Also, there are certain distributions that are free for download but the support is paid. Most Linux distribution makes its money on support.
Now lets' understand how Linux works. The core part of Linux is its Kernel. Linux Kernel communicates between the Linux Software and the Hardware. Its job is to work as an intermediate between the software and the hardware. When working with Linux you need to understand one thing which is in Linux everything is treated as a file or a folder. Even the hard drive, printer, or any other peripherals are treated as a file or a folder. This makes it very easy to understand the structure of Linux. This also makes it very easy to modify or make changes in Linux. Linux is a very stable operating system. A lot of the Hardware manufacturer now create drivers for Linux. Also the Linux Community is working very Hard to provide driver support for the hardware that is not supported by Linux.
Many of you might be new to Linux. I started playing with Linux some 3-4 Years ago. At first it was kind of difficult to understand how Linux worked but, once i understood the structure of Linux it was very easy to understand the rest. Linux was created by Linus Torvalds. He took Unix and modified 90 percent of the kernel and made it available to public for free as Open Source. Today there are many distributions of Linux. If you know a bit of programming, you can take a distribution, modify the kernel according to your liking and release it to public. My personal favorite and most widely used distribution is Ubuntu. Linux did not gain much popularity until it started coming out with GUI(Graphical User Interface). Ubuntu has developed in to very easy to use distribution. Most of the Linux Distributions are free but, there are certain Distributions that are free for public use but are paid for enterprise use. One such distribution is Red Hat Linux. The public version of Red Hat is free but the Red Hat Enterprise Edition is paid. Also, there are certain distributions that are free for download but the support is paid. Most Linux distribution makes its money on support.
Now lets' understand how Linux works. The core part of Linux is its Kernel. Linux Kernel communicates between the Linux Software and the Hardware. Its job is to work as an intermediate between the software and the hardware. When working with Linux you need to understand one thing which is in Linux everything is treated as a file or a folder. Even the hard drive, printer, or any other peripherals are treated as a file or a folder. This makes it very easy to understand the structure of Linux. This also makes it very easy to modify or make changes in Linux. Linux is a very stable operating system. A lot of the Hardware manufacturer now create drivers for Linux. Also the Linux Community is working very Hard to provide driver support for the hardware that is not supported by Linux.
I like linux for its simplicity and stability. It is very easy to understand and a very robust operating system. Let's understand how Linux works at its core. Like i said earlier everything in Linux is treated as file or a folder. The base of the Linux operating system is its kernel. We will talk about kernels later, just know that Kernel is the core of Linux.
Installing Linux today is a lot easier than 5 years ago. Today installing Linux is mostly GUI(Graphical User Interface) Based. I select my distributions from either www.distrowatch.com or www.livecdlist.com so head over to www.distrowatch.com or www.livecdlist.com and download a distribution of your comfort or choice. I have selected Ubuntu in my case. To know how to Install linux visit my other blog extremelinux.wordpress.com. Once you have installed linux we need to get familiar with how the operating system works. Let's take a look at Ubuntu after it's finished installing. Below is a picture of Ubuntu Desktop after installation.
As you can see the bar on the left hand side has the utilities needed for daily use. The first icon that looks like a file cabinet is your file manager. File Manager is equivalent to My Computer/Computer in Windows. Below the file manager you see the Icon for Fire Fox the web browser. Below the Fire Fox web browser you see the Icons for Open Office Writer (Word), Sheets (Excel) and Presenter (Power Point). Below these icons you see the icon looking like a brief case with an "A". That is the icon for your Ubuntu Software Center. This is where you will be locating and Installing any application you like. By default Linux has a wide variety of application Support. Below that is the Icon for Amazon. The Icon below Amazon is the Icon for System Settings. This is where you will be making any changes or modification to your operating system. System Settings is the equivalent to Control Panel in Windows and System Preferences in Mac. The two Icons below the System settings are Floppy and DVD and the Icon below is the Icon for Trash Can.
Installing Linux today is a lot easier than 5 years ago. Today installing Linux is mostly GUI(Graphical User Interface) Based. I select my distributions from either www.distrowatch.com or www.livecdlist.com so head over to www.distrowatch.com or www.livecdlist.com and download a distribution of your comfort or choice. I have selected Ubuntu in my case. To know how to Install linux visit my other blog extremelinux.wordpress.com. Once you have installed linux we need to get familiar with how the operating system works. Let's take a look at Ubuntu after it's finished installing. Below is a picture of Ubuntu Desktop after installation.
