Sydney Linux Users' Group. Linux Reviews. Linux. What is Linux? Linux is an operating system. An operating system is the basic set of programs and utilities that make your computer run. Some other common operating systems are Unix (and its variants BSD, AIX, Solaris, HP-UX, and others); DOS; Microsoft Windows; Amiga; and Mac OS. Linux is Free Software. Linux is not owned by anyone. Not so! No one company or individual "owns" Linux, which was developed, and is still being improved, by thousands of corporate-supported and volunteer programmers all over the world. (However, the trademark "Linux" is owned by Linus Torvalds, so if you call something "Linux" it had better be Linux, not something else.) How to get Linux: When you "get Linux" you are usually getting a "Linux distribution" that contains not only the basic Linux operating system, but also programs that enhance it in many ways.
You can get Linux from a number of online software repositories, including the official Web sites for each distribution. Preston St. Linux for Windows Addicts. Linux Central.