A computer system is made up of components by various manufacturers. If you have ever tried to buy a new computer system or upgrade a old one, you will know that a computer consists of CPU, Hard Disk, Monitor, etc. And in every component, you have a choice to make. Processor: Intel or AMD? Hard Disk: Seagate or Samsung?
An Operating System is just another component of your computer. And like other component it can be swapped for a better replacement. Is it really necessary to spend our hard-earned money for a opearting system that is full of security holes, frequent virus attacks, and inconsistent boot and shutdown time.
There is an alternative. Welcome to world of linux.In the simplest terms, an operating system is the fundamental software that's needed to make your computer work.It allows your computer's hardware to communicate with the software you run on it. It's hundreds of programs, system libraries, drivers, and more, all tightly integrated into a whole. In addition, an operating system lets programs talk to other programs and, ofcourse, communicate with you, the user. In other words, the operating system runs everything and allows everything to work.
GNU LINUX
Although most of us refer to Linux as a complete operating system, the title "Linux" hides a lot of confusing but rather important details. Technically speaking, the word Linux refers merely to the kernel file: the central set of programs that lie at the heart of the operating system. Everything else that comes with a typical version of Linux, such as programs to display graphics on the screen or let the user input data, is supplied by other people, organizations, or companies. The Linux operating system is the combination of many disparate projects.
The GNU organization, in particular, supplies a lot of vital programs and also system library files, without which Linux wouldn't run. These programs and files were vital to the acceptance of Linux as an operating system in its early days. Because of this, and the fact that Linux completed a long-running goal of the GNU project to create a Unix-like operating system, some people choose to refer to Linux as GNU/Linux.
Linux has been misconstrued as a server operating system designed for central computers that hand out files and other computer resources to other computers. That is just one of its avtars. Now it has become a full-fledged graphical desktop operating system like you-know-what. In fact, it has gone even further. Today, it's very likely that you will find Linux running your digital video recorder and other computer-based household gadgets.
Getting technical for a moment, Linux is a 32-bit and 64-bit, multitasking, multiuser operating system. This is a complicated way of saying that it is pretty powerful. Linux is as capable of running supercomputers as it is of running a desktop computer. Linux builds on the foundation laid by Unix, which itself was based on Multics, which was one of the first modern computer operating systems. It's not an exaggeration to say that Linux can trace its family tree all the way back to the pioneering days of computing.
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