21-11-2012, 02:39 PM
Linux/Ubuntu
Intro_Linux_Ubuntu.pptx (Size: 507.38 KB / Downloads: 197)
Bill Gates 1976
In 1976, a young hacker and his partner Paul Allen had written a version of the BASIC computer language that ran on the Altair. It was sold through their new company, “Microsoft”
Problem: the hacker community was largely copying the program and distributing it without paying for it
“As the majority of hobbyists must be aware, most of you steal your software. Who can afford to do professional work for nothing? What hobbyist can put three man-years into programming, finding all the bugs, documenting his product, and distributing it for free?”
--Bill Gates in a 1976 letter to the HomeBrew Computer Club
Open Source and Copyleft
What’s the difference between open source and proprietary software?
GNU General Public License (“copyleft”)
Freedom to run the program for any purpose
Freedom to study how the program works and modify it to suit your needs
Freedom to redistribute copies, either for free or for a fee
Freedom to change and improve the program and to redistribute modified programs to the public
Software that uses GPL cannot be made proprietary
The Viral Clause: Any software that uses any part of GPL software must also be GPL—that is, it must distribute the source code.
What is Linux?
In 1991, Linus Torvalds, a Finnish computer science grad student, bought a 80386 computer with 4Meg of memory. The OS it came with was…..
He preferred Unix, but couldn’t afford the license
Torvalds adapted Minix, a simple Unix clone, to produce Linux by fall of 1991.
He posted it on a newsgroup, encouraging all to improve it.
By the end of 1991, 100 people had joined the group, many adding new features and improvements.
Over the next ten years, Linux became a market phenomenon, running over 1/3 of the world’s web servers by the year 2000.
Who uses Linux?
Google uses a cluster of 10,000 computers to handle requests. All run Linux.
Yahoo’s directory services
Movie special effects for Titanic and Lord of the Rings
Disney, Dreamworks, and Pixar
Amazon
E*Trade
Merrill Lynch
Reuters
DoD/DoE/NSA
Your desktop? Is this a weakness now or in the future?
Why was Linux so successful?
AT&T had assumed that they could not sell Unix at a profit because of the consent decree (could only make money from carrier services).
By the late 70’s AT&T was trying to make money from Unix for the first time, which contributed to Unix’s foundering in the 80’s.
Competition from Microsoft was hampering Unix’s success, as was the growing dominance of the personal computer.
MS-DOS was widely viewed as an inferior product
Unix already had a large following. Universities had started out using Unix, so Linux was easier to learn
IT WAS FREE!!!!!
What is Ubuntu?
Technically, the term “Linux” refers to the OS’ kernel.
Many organizations package the Linux kernel, along with supporting programs, GUI, and utilities (RedHat, Mandriva, Fedora). These are called “distributions” or “distros”
One of the most popular distros is Ubuntu
The Ubuntu Philosophy
“Ubuntu is an African concept of 'humanity towards others'. It is the 'belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity'. The same ideas are central to the way the Ubuntu community collaborates. Members of the Ubuntu community need to work together effectively, and this code of conduct lays down the ground rules for our cooperation. We chose the name Ubuntu for our operating system because we think it captures perfectly the spirit of the sharing and cooperation that is at the heart of the open-source movement. In the free software world, we collaborate freely on a volunteer basis to build software for everyone's benefit.”