Linux
Welcome
Welcome to a place where we all love computers! Linux is one way that we get to take control and feel closer to our hardware!
About Linux
Linux is a group of open source operating systems that use the linux kernel. Linux kernel was released on September 17 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Today linux powers much of the modern world's computer architecture, though not many consumer electronics.
Why use Linux?
There are several reasons you may want to try Linux, here are a few:
Control
Linux offers the user a great deal more control than a Windows or Mac machine, leading to greater customization and reliability. With great power comes great responsibility though, the system administrator can cause significant damage if they don't know what they are doing.
Learn more about computers
Often settings are not hidden by a graphical interface, allowing the user to understand what is happening "under the hood". Much of the software on Linux, as well as Linux is open source, meaning it can be examined by the user and understood.
Privacy
This one really depends on you as the user, but Linux can be as private as you decide, as you have control over what software is running on your computer.
Performance
Linux has lower hardware requirements and can "feel" a great deal more responsive on older systems as compared to other proprietary operating systems. A great example of this is if your system doesn't meet the requirements for Windows 11, it should be able to handle Linux no problem.
What is a distribution?
Linux is composed of many different distributions. These are all built and maintained by different groups and individuals. They are usually focused on different demographics. Distributions like Linux Mint are targeted towards beginners while distributions like Arch Linux are for advanced users.
Different distributions have different package managers, which are collections of software. The default tools and software preinstalled on each distribution will also be different.