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<H3 align="left"><img src="../../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif"
height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
>question please please please answer</H3>
<p><strong>From Lindsey Seaton
</strong></p>
<p align="right"><strong>Answered By Frank Rodolf, madeline, Thomas Adam
<br></strong></p>
<!-- sig -->
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Excuse me. I have a question
</STRONG></P>
<P><STRONG>
As a computer project, I was assigned to get on the computer and
find out what linux is and what it is used for. I don't know if it's
an orginization or if it's part of HTML script or anything. Please
e-mail me back with the answer please. I just know so little about
computers and one name can mean so many different things on
the internet. I had only just now I had been spelling it wrong (linex)
until I found out it was spelled linux.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Frank]
There are so many possible answers to that question, I won't even start
to try to answer it.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
What I can do, is send you to the list of Frequently Asked Questions
(FAQ). The question you ask is the very first question in there. You
can find it here:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQuote>
<A HREF="http://www.linuxdoc.org/FAQ/Linux-FAQ/index.html"
>http://www.linuxdoc.org/FAQ/Linux-FAQ/index.html</A>
</BLOCKQuote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P><STRONG><IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
>
Thank you for your help.
</STRONG></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Frank]
I hope the link helps you!
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Madeline]
I just looked at the FAQ and noticed that they're really not too helpful
for a beginner. So here's a more straightforward answer:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Like Windows and Mac OS, Linux is an operating system, which is a program
that is in charge of organizing and running everything on your computer.
Here is a definition of operating system:
<A HREF="http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/o/operating_system.html"
>http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/o/operating_system.html</A>
</BLOCKQuote>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Unlike Windows and Mac OS, Linux is free, and the programming code that
was used to create it is available to everyone. As a result, there are
many versions of linux (such as <A HREF="http://www.redhat.com/">Red Hat</A>, Gnome, and <A HREF="http://www.suse.com/">SuSE</A>) which are
somewhat different but with the same foundation (called a "kernel"--this
kernel is updated every so often by the creator of Linux, Linus Torvalds,
and company). Linux is usually the operating system of choice for computer
programmers and scientists because it is very stable and well-designed
(not crashing randomly and often as Windows tends to do).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I hope this helps.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Madeline
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Mike]
Thanks, Madeline, I was about to say something similar.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Many people also find Linux and other Unix derivatives more flexible
than other operating systems.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
> [Thomas Adam]
I don't really remember this address as being
advertised as a "do your research/homework" one.
Nevertheless, I can try and answer your question....
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Firstly, your question is far too broad. There have
been numerous books written about the history and use
of Linux, and it is beyond the scope of my knowledge
to tell you everything.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<p><em>Considering that Thomas is "The Weekend Mechanic" and has
written several articles for the </em>Linux Gazette</em>
over the years, that's saying something significant. -- Heather</em></p>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Linux was created by scratch in ~1991, by Linus
Torvalds, a very gifted person for Finland. His goal
was to create a Unix like operating system. Thus, he
was assisted by numerous loosly-knit programmers over
the world, to produce the kernel, the "heart" of the
operating system. Essentially, this is what "Linux"
refers to.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
Linux is an operating system, and is an alternative
to the de facto operating system "MS-Windows". Linux
is a Unix-like operating system (as I have already
said). There are many different "distibutions" of
Linux, which use different means of distributing data,
either in RPM format, .tgz format etc.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
If you are interested, you could try Linux out (by
using a floppy based distibution, such as HAL91
available from the following:
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BLOCKQuote>
<A HREF="http://www.itm.tu-clausthal.de/~perle/hal91"
>http://www.itm.tu-clausthal.de/~perle/hal91</A>
</BLOCKQuote></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
and then you can run Linux off a floppy disk. Bear in
mind however, that this will offer no GUI frontend.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
I hope this has answered a little of your question,
even if it is brief.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
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