Linux

Linux (pronounced ⁱ/ˈlɪnəks/ LIN-əks or, less frequently, /ˈlaɪnəks/ LYN-əks) is a Unix-like and mostly POSIX-compliant computer operating system (OS) assembled under the model of free and open-source software development and distribution. The defining component of Linux is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on 5 October 1991 by Linus Torvalds. The Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to describe the operating system, which has led to some controversy.

Linux was originally developed as a free operating system for personal computers based on the Intel x86 architecture, but has since been ported to more computer hardware platforms than any other operating system. Thanks to its dominance on smartphones, Android, which is built on top of the Linux kernel, has the largest installed base of all general-purpose operating systems. Linux, in its original form, is also the leading operating system on servers and other big iron systems such as mainframe computers and virtually all fastest supercomputers, but is used on only around 1.6% of desktop computers with Linux-based Chrome OS taking about 5% of the overall and nearly 20% of the sub-$300 notebook sales. Linux also runs on embedded systems, which are devices whose operating system is typically built into the firmware and is highly tailored to the system; this includes smartphones and tablet computers running Android and other Linux derivatives,TiVo and similar DVR devices, network routers, facility automation controls, televisions,video game consoles, and smartwatches.

Linux (disambiguation)

Linux is a computer operating system based on the Linux kernel.

Linux may also refer to:

See also

Linux kernel

The Linux kernel is a Unix-like computer operating system kernel. It is used world-wide: the Linux operating system is based on it and deployed on both traditional computer systems such as personal computers and servers, usually in the form of Linux distributions, and on various embedded devices such as routers and NAS appliances. The Android operating system for tablet computers, smartphones and smartwatches is also based atop the Linux kernel.

The Linux kernel was conceived and created in 1991, by Finnish computer science student Linus Torvalds for his personal computer and with no cross-platform intentions, but has since expanded to support a huge array of computer architectures, many more than other operating systems or kernels. Linux rapidly attracted developers and users who adapted code from other free software projects for use with the new operating system. The Linux kernel has received contributions from nearly 12,000 programmers from more than 1,200 companies, including some of the largest software and hardware vendors.

CompTIA

The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), a non-profit trade association, was created in 1982 as the Association of Better Computer Dealers (ABCD). ABCD later changed its name to the Computing Technology Industry Association to reflect the association's evolving role in the computer industry and in the U.S. business landscape at large. The 1990s was a period of growth as the association broadened the scope of its activities to address the needs of the expanding computer industry. Its initiatives increased to include networking, UNIX, imaging, mobile computing, and multimedia arenas. In an effort to monitor and take positions on public policy issues, the association added a full-time Director of Public Policy. In 2010, CompTIA added a new executive director for a newly named "Creating IT Futures" Foundation, its philanthropic arm that focuses on training and certifying low-income students and adults in IT, as well as returning veterans—and helping connect them with potential employers.