19-05-2012, 01:33 PM
Linux Introduction
Linux Introduction.ppt (Size: 1.76 MB / Downloads: 146)
Before Linux
In 80’s, Microsoft’s DOS was the dominated OS for PC
Apple MAC was better, but expensive
UNIX was much better, but much, much more expensive. Only for minicomputer for commercial applications
People was looking for a UNIX based system, which is cheaper and can run on PC
Both DOS, MAC and UNIX were proprietary, i.e., the source code of their kernel is protected
No modification is possible without paying high license fees
Beginning of Linux
A famous professor Andrew Tanenbaum developed Minix, a simplified version of UNIX that runs on PC
Minix is for class teaching only. No intention for commercial use
In Sept 1991, Linus Torvalds, a second year student of Computer Science at the University of Helsinki, developed the preliminary kernel of Linux, known as Linux version 0.0.1
Linux Today
Linux has been used for many computing platforms
PC, PDA, Supercomputer,…
Not only character user interface but graphical user interface is available
Commercial vendors moved in Linux itself to provide freely distributed code. They make their money by compiling up various software and gathering them in a distributable format
Red Hat, Slackware, etc
Linux - free software
Free software, as defined by the FSF (Free Software Foundation), is a "matter of liberty, not price." To qualify as free software by FSF standards, you must be able to:
Run the program for any purpose you want to, rather than be restricted in what you can use it for.
View the program's source code.
Study the program's source code and modify it if you need to.
Share the program with others.
Improve the program and release those improvements so that others can use them.
The Menu Panel
Applications - The Applications menu contains a variety of icons that start software applications. It is similar to the Microsoft Windows Start menu.
Places - The Places menu contains a customizable list of directories, mounted volumes, recent documents, and a Search function. Volumes that are mounted may be external USB drives (flash, hard disk, CD, etc.), directories shared across a network, or other media devices such as a portable music player.
System - The System menu contains a variety of items.
The Desktop Area
Computer - This contains all volumes (or disks) mounted on the computer. These are also listed in the Places menu. Computer is equivalent to My Computer on Microsoft Windows.
Home - This is where the logged-in user stores all files by default, such as music, movies, and documents. There is a different home directory for each user, and by default users cannot access each others' home directories. Home is equivalent to My Documents on Microsoft Windows.
Trash - Deleted files are moved to Trash. Empty Trash by right-clicking the icon and clicking Empty Trash.
To permanently delete a file and bypass the file's move to Trash, hold down the [Shift] key when deleting the file.
Right-clicking on the desktop presents a menu of actions related to the desktop area. For example, clicking on Change Desktop Background lets you choose a different image or photograph to display on the desktop. It is possible to choose not to have any desktop background.