[ Thanks to Mark
Sweeting for this link. ]
“In its short history, the internet has spawned millions of
buzzwords (so much so that the inhabitants of the internet are
frequently mistaken for visitors from foreign lands). Amongst the
dotcoms, webcams, mp3s and jpegs one word stands alone, singularly
meaningless to the majority of people. That word is ‘Linux’.
“
“So, what does ‘Linux’ mean? Linux is the name of an operating
system, started by Linus Torvalds back in 1991. An operating system
is a software package that supports the hardware fitted inside your
machine, allowing you to run the applications installed on your
machine; the two most common operating systems with which you are
likely to be familiar are Windows and MacOS.”
“Linux has gathered millions of supporters over the last 9
years, for two key reasons: firstly, it is supremely good for
implementing network applications (such as web sites, e-mail
systems, etc.); secondly, it is Free Software.”