Summer Ferrell

Assignment: Linux Operating Systems

CISB 11 CRN 22254

November 5, 2009

Back in 1969 developers from Bell Lab Industries decided to find a solution to the expensive, enormous, and temperamental computers that were in use. They came up with a new system called “UNIX”, this system was developed to be written in the C programming code instead of in assembly code and able to recycle code as well. Even though this system was an improvement over the old computers, it still had its hang-ups. The UNIX system was eventually able to be used in consumer homes but was extremely slow and never truly free.

That’s when a man named Linus Torvalds came up with the idea to make a freely available academic version of UNIX. Others were trying to create free systems like Richard Stallman’s project GNU, but this was too much of a wait for Linus. So in 1991, he posted a message to Minix saying he was starting a free new operating system and wanted people to test it out and help report any errors in the system. Linux version 0.01 was released by mid September 1991, and was put on the net. Enthusiasm gathered around this new kid on the block, and codes were downloaded, tested, tweaked, and returned to Linus.

Linux distributions are members of the family of the UNIX-like software distributions built on top of the Linux kernel. These distributions are made up of large collections of software applications. For example, word processors, spreadsheets, media players and database applications. The operating system is made up of the Linux kernel and, usually, a set of libraries and utilities from the GNU project with graphics support from the X Window System. Distributions optimized for size may not contain X, and tend to use more compact alternatives to the GNU utilities such as Busybox, uClibc or dietlibc. There are currently over six hundred Linux distributions. Over three hundred of those are in active development, constantly being revised and improved.

Red Hat is a major Linux distribution vendor. The company was created in 1993 and is an S&P 500 company in the free and open source software sector. However, the company didn’t go public until August 11, 1999. Headquarters are located in Raleigh North Carolina, but also has satellite offices around the world. Red Hat provides operating-system platforms along with middleware, applications, and management products, as well as support, training, and consulting services. Red Hat partly operates on a professional open-source business model based on open code, development within a community, professional quality assurance, and subscription-based customer support. They produce open-source code, so more programmers can make further adaptations and improvements. Subscriptions are sold for the support, training, and integration services that help customers in using open-source software. Customers pay one set price for unlimited access to services such as Red Hat Network and up to 24/7 support.

Another distribution of Linux is Fedora. The Fedora Project is sponsored by Red Hat, and is an RPM-based, general purpose operating system built on top of the Linux kernel. Fedora's mission statement is: "The Fedora Project's mission is to lead the advancement of free and open source software and content as a collaborative community”. One of Fedora's main objectives is not only to contain software distributed under a free and open source license, but also to be on the leading edge of such technologies. However, Fedora has a comparatively short life cycle: version X is maintained until one month after version X+2 is released. With 6 months between releases, the maintenance period is about 13 months for each version.

One way to get a Linux distribution and install is a Live Distro or Live CD. They are Linux distribution’s that can be started from a compact disc instead of just the conventional hard drive. When the operating system is started from a read-only device such as a CD or DVD, if user data needs to be retained between sessions, it cannot be stored on the boot device. The data must be written to some other media such as a USB flash drive or an installed hard drive. Temporary operating system data is usually kept solely in RAM.

Another way to receive and install a Linux distribution is by buying the software and products of that company. This is the most common method of installing Linux. You boot the software from a CD-ROM or DVD that contains the installation program and installable software. Such a CD can be burned from a downloaded ISO image, purchased alone for a low price, provided as a cover disk with a magazine, shipped for free by request, or obtained as part of a box set that may also include manuals and additional commercial software. New users tend to begin by partitioning a hard drive in order to keep their previously-installed operating system. The Linux distribution can then be installed on its own separate partition without affecting previously saved data.

Popular user applications include Evolution and gscan2pdf. Evolution provides integrated mail, address book and calendaring functionality to users of the GNOME desktop. Those who want it all in a single application, Evolution is the best match. Calendar, contacts, email while taking things into the air with MS Exchange for those who are still stuck using Microsoft's Exchange servers at work. For those who must keep the pace in a non-exclusive-to-Linux world that many of our employers thrust us into, this application can make life a little less stressful. Gscan2pdf is A GUI to produce a multipage PDF or DjVu from a scan. Besides being able to scan images fairly easily without being saddle by unneeded options, I also find the ability to send the scanned docs into PDF format a real time saver.