Linus The Man Behind Linux

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Well, we all have heard somewhere (if not using it already) about Linux an Operating System that hardly gets a virus, that runs applications created to run only on Linux and can’t run Windows and macOS applications (at least not out of the box), and it’s free, as in free beer or as in speech. But how was Linux created? Why is it free? Who created it?    

About Linus

Linus Benedict Torvalds is a Finnish software engineer born on December 28, 1969. Son of two Journalists named Anna and Nils Torvalds. He graduated with a Master’s Degree in Computer Science in 1996.
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He is the creator and maintainer of Linux Kernel and git distributed revision control designed to handle from small to large projects with speed and efficiency.  ​

Honorations

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  1. 2014 IEEE Computer Society Computer Pioneer Award – recognized and honored as the vision of those whose efforts resulted in the creation and continued vitality of the computer industry.
  2. 2012 Millennium Technology prize – recognition for the creation of a new open-source operating system for computers leading to the widely used Linux kernel;
  3. 2012 Internet hall of fame – Innovators category.
  4. 2010 C&C Prize – contributions to the advancement of the information technology industry, education, research, and the improvement of our lives.

Linux

​The first prototype of Linux was created in 1991 where Linus created a post regarding the creation of Linux has a hobby. And its first release was in March 1994 and was version 1.0. It was released using the General Public Licence Version 2.

He worked for Transmeta from February 1997 until June 2003 and then started working on Open Source Development Labs, which has since merged with the Free Standards Group to become the Linux Foundation.

​Linux mascot tux is named after is personal mascot with the same name.

In 2008, Torvalds stated that he used the Fedora distribution of Linux and it was confirmed in a later 2012 interview. He has also posted updates about his choice of the desktop environment, often in response.  

From Linus to Linux

At the beginning he wanted to name Linux Kernel Freax (a combination of “free”, “freak”, and the letter X to indicate that it is a Unix-like system), but his friend Ari Lemmke, who was the administrator of the FTP server where the kernel was first hosted for download, named Torvalds directory Linux.  

Linux is Everywhere

​Linux is almost in everything we use lately from servers to a smartphone, to a Fridge and keeps evolving each and every day.

Below is a list of things made possible with Linux –

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  • Supercomputers – Almost 99% of all available supercomputers run Linux;
  • Games Consoles – In an article we talked about some games now available for Linux and this can be made possible using Steam Machines;
  • Roku TV – Is a Media Stream Device (For videos, Photos, and Audio);
  • Smart TV
  • Self Driving cars;

Conclusion

​Linus Torvalds contribution to the world of computer science is almost unmeasurable because almost everything we use today runs on Linux, because of it’s security or its huge number of contributors that makes it very up to date or the bugs are solved very fast.

Lately, even Microsoft one of the most powerful Enterprise, when coming to closed source code has recognized Linux and is contributing to the Linux Foundation.

So what is your opinion about Linux?