Things you need to know about Linux

Interesting facts you need to know about Linux.

Most of us heard of Linux Operating System, but how well do we know about. We made a short video to show you some of the interesting facts about Linux.

1. The Founder “Linus Torvalds”

Linus Benedict Torvalds knows as the father of Linux. The history of Linux began in 1991 with the commencement of a personal project by Linus Torvalds to create a new free operating system kernel. Since then, the resulting Linux kernel has been marked by constant growth throughout its history.

Linus Torvalds had wanted to call his invention “Freax”, a portmanteau of “free”, “freak”, and “x” (as an allusion to Unix). Torvalds had already considered the name “Linux” but initially dismissed it as too egotistical. Torvald’s coworker did not think that “Freax” was a good name. So, he named the project “Linux” on the server without consulting Torvalds. Later, however, Torvalds consented to “Linux”.

2. The Penguin “TUX”

The concept of the Linux mascot being a penguin came from Linus Torvalds. TUX was created by Larry Ewing in 1996 after an initial suggestion made by Alan Cox. Torvalds took his inspiration from an image he found on an FTP site, showing a penguin figurine looking strangely like the Creature Comforts characters made by Nick Park. The first person to call the penguin “TUX” was James Hughes, who said that it stood for “(T)

The first person to call the penguin “TUX” was James Hughes, who said that it stood for “(T)orvalds (U)ni(X)”. However, TUX is also an abbreviation of a tuxedo. Torvalds claims to have contracted “penguinitis” after being gently nibbled by a penguin: “Penguinitis” makes you stay awake at nights just thinking about penguins and feeling great love towards them. Torvalds supposed illness is a joke, but he really was bitten by a little penguin on a visit to the National Zoo & Aquarium, Canberra, Australia.

3. Prototype released on 1991

The defining component of Linux is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991. Later in 1992 Linux kernel is relicensed under GNU GPL to get rid of legal complication that faced before being launched to the public.

4. Linux Distribution

In 1993, Slackware became the 1st Linux distribution and released their first version of SUSE Linux distribution. Slackware has been the oldest Linux distribution and still maintained till now. Feel free to explore and get a copy of their work here.

5. Android & Chrome OS powered by Linux

Perhaps, the most widely used mobile operating system (Android) that developed by Google were created based on Linux kernel. Android is one of the Linux distribution according to the Linux Foundation.