GNU/Linux or Linux, for short, is an open-source network operating system (NOS) which was patterned after UNIX, but in a portable manner. It is a mini version of UNIX, in other words. The nature of being open-source led a flock of software developers to use the code for making their own operating system (OS) versions. The code that Linux creator Linus Torvalds developed was very portable and stable in running on a thin client machine. But it was non-graphical and there was a little appeal for a user to switch to this type of OS when Window 95 was at the height of its hype as a desktop OS.
However, some network operators such as telecommunications and Internet Service Providers found Linux to be cheaper alternative for their daily computing and networking routine and expenses. Most of them were using UNIX operating systems that had been purchased in an expensive per-seat licensing scheme. As compared to UNIX, one could always download a copy of Linux and install it without paying any license fee at all. It somehow eased the pockets for operators to migrate from UNIX to Linux. Both OSs use the TCP/IP network protocol, which is the standard rule of communication for Internet operations. All of this combined in making Linux very popular software that threatens the biggest software maker in the world.
After working for ten years as a System Administrator for an Internet company, many varieties of Linux have gone through my servers. So Linux beginners, welcome! Please read along to find out which varieties of Linux are easy to use.
