603 lines
11 KiB
HTML
603 lines
11 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
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<HTML
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><HEAD
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><TITLE
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>General Information</TITLE
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><META
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CONTENT="Modular DocBook HTML Stylesheet Version 1.7"><LINK
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REL="HOME"
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HREF="index.html"><LINK
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TITLE="Introduction"
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REL="NEXT"
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TITLE="The Linux Kernel"
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HREF="kernel.html"></HEAD
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><TR
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><TH
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COLSPAN="3"
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>The Linux FAQ</TH
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></TR
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><TR
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WIDTH="10%"
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ALIGN="left"
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>Next</A
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><HR
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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WIDTH="100%"></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="sect1"
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><H1
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CLASS="sect1"
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><A
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NAME="general"
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></A
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>2. General Information</H1
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><DIV
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CLASS="qandaset"
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><DL
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><DT
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>Q: <A
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HREF="general.html#what-is-linux"
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>What Is Linux?</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>Q: <A
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HREF="general.html#is-linux-unix"
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>Is Linux Unix?</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>Q: <A
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HREF="general.html#who-wrote-linux"
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>Who Wrote Linux?</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>Q: <A
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HREF="general.html#is-linux-public-domain-copyrighted"
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>How Is Linux Licensed?</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>Q: <A
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HREF="general.html#pronounce-linux"
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>How Does One Pronounce Linux?</A
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></DT
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><DT
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>Q: <A
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HREF="general.html#how-many-people"
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>How Many People Use Linux?</A
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></DT
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></DL
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><DIV
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CLASS="qandaentry"
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><DIV
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CLASS="question"
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><P
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><A
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NAME="what-is-linux"
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></A
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><B
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>Q: </B
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>What Is Linux?</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="answer"
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><P
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><B
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>A: </B
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>The name "Linux" is used to refer to three similar yet slightly different things,
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which can be confusing to all but the hardcore geek.
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The three usages vary by how much of a complete software system the speaker is talking about.
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</P
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><P
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>At the lowest level, every Linux system is based on the <EM
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>Linux kernel</EM
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>
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— the very low-level software that manages your computer hardware,
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multi-tasks the many programs that are running at any given time, and other
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such essential things.
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These low-level functions are used by other programs, so their authors can
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focus on the specific functionality they want to provide.
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Without the kernel, your computer is a very expensive doorstop.
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It has all of the features of a modern operating system: true multitasking,
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threads, virtual memory, shared libraries, demand loading, shared, copy-on-write
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executables, proper memory management,
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loadable device driver modules, video frame buffering, and TCP/IP networking.
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</P
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><P
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>Most often, the name "Linux" is used to refer to the <EM
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>Linux Operating System</EM
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>.
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An OS includes the kernel, but also adds various utilities — the kinds of programs
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you need to get anything done.
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For example, it includes a <EM
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>shell</EM
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> (the program that provides a command prompt and lets you run programs),
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a program to copy files, a program to delete files, and many other odds and ends.
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Some people honor the request of Richard Stallman and the <A
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HREF="http://www.gnu.org"
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TARGET="_top"
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><I
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CLASS="citetitle"
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>GNU Project</I
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></A
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>,
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and call the Linux OS <EM
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>GNU/Linux</EM
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>, because a good number of these utility programs were written by the GNU folks.
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</P
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><P
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>Finally, software companies (and sometimes volunteer groups) add on lots of extra software, like the
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<A
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HREF="http://www.xfree86.org"
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TARGET="_top"
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><I
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CLASS="citetitle"
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>XFree86 X Window System</I
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></A
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>, <A
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HREF="http://www.gnome.org"
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TARGET="_top"
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><I
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CLASS="citetitle"
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>Gnome</I
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></A
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>,
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<A
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HREF="http://www.kde.org"
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TARGET="_top"
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><I
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CLASS="citetitle"
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>KDE</I
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></A
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>, games and many other applications.
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These software compilations which are based on the Linux OS are called <EM
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>Linux distributions</EM
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>.
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</P
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><P
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>So, there are three Linuxes: the Linux kernel, the Linux OS, and the various Linux distributions.
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Most people, however, refer to the operating system kernel, system software,
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and application software, collectively, as "Linux", and that convention is
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used in this FAQ as well.
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</P
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><P
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>See also the Wikipedia articles on the
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<A
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HREF="http://www.wikipedia.com/wiki.phtml?title=Linux_kernel"
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TARGET="_top"
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><I
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CLASS="citetitle"
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>Linux kernel</I
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></A
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> and the <A
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HREF="http://www.wikipedia.com/wiki.phtml?title=Linux_operating_system"
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TARGET="_top"
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><I
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CLASS="citetitle"
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>Linux operating system</I
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></A
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>.
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</P
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></DIV
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="qandaentry"
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><DIV
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CLASS="question"
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><P
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><A
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NAME="is-linux-unix"
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></A
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><B
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>Q: </B
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>Is Linux Unix?</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="answer"
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><P
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><B
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>A: </B
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>Officially an operating system is not allowed to be called a Unix until it
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passes the Open Group's certification tests, and supports the necessary API's.
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Nobody has yet stepped forward to pay the large fees that certification
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involves, so we're not allowed to call it Unix.
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Certification really doesn't mean very much anyway.
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Very few of the commercial operating systems have passed the Open Group tests.
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</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="answer"
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><P
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><B
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>A: </B
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>Unofficially, Linux is very similar to the operating systems which are known
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as Unix, and for many purposes they are equivalent.
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Linux the kernel is an operating system kernel that behaves and performs similarly
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to the famous Unix operating system from AT&T Bell Labs.
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Linux is often called a "Unix-like" operating system.
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For more information, see <A
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HREF="http://www.unix-systems.org/what_is_unix.html"
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TARGET="_top"
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><I
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CLASS="citetitle"
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>http://www.unix-systems.org/what_is_unix.html</I
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></A
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>.
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</P
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><P
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>[Bob Friesenhahn]
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</P
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></DIV
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="qandaentry"
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><DIV
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CLASS="question"
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><P
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><A
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NAME="who-wrote-linux"
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></A
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><B
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>Q: </B
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>Who Wrote Linux?</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="answer"
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><P
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><B
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>A: </B
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>Linus Torvalds and a loosely knit team of volunteer hackers from across
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the Internet wrote (and still are writing) Linux from scratch.
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</P
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></DIV
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="qandaentry"
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><DIV
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CLASS="question"
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><P
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><A
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NAME="is-linux-public-domain-copyrighted"
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></A
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><B
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>Q: </B
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>How Is Linux Licensed?</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="answer"
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><P
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><B
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>A: </B
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>Linus has placed the Linux kernel
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under the GNU General Public License, which basically means that you may
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freely copy, change, and distribute it, but you may not impose any
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restrictions on further distribution, and you must make the source code
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available.
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</P
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><P
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>This is not the same as Public Domain. See the Copyright FAQ,
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<A
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HREF="ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/law/copyright"
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TARGET="_top"
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><I
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CLASS="citetitle"
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>ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/law/copyright</I
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></A
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>,
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for details.
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</P
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><P
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>Full details are in the file <TT
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CLASS="filename"
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>COPYING</TT
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> in the Linux kernel
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sources (probably in <TT
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CLASS="filename"
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>/usr/src/linux</TT
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> on your system).
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There is a FAQ for the GPL at: <A
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HREF="http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl-faq.html"
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TARGET="_top"
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><I
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CLASS="citetitle"
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>http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl-faq.html</I
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></A
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>.
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</P
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><P
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>The licenses of the utilities and programs which come with the installations
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vary. Much of the code is from the GNU Project at the Free Software
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Foundation, and is also under the GPL. Some other major programs often included
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in Linux distributions are under a BSD license and other similar licenses.
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</P
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><P
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>Note that discussion about the merits or otherwise of the GPL should be
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posted to the news group gnu.misc.discuss, and not to the
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<A
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HREF="news:comp.os.linux"
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TARGET="_top"
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><I
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CLASS="citetitle"
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>news:comp.os.linux</I
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></A
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> hierarchy.
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</P
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><P
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>For legal questions, refer to the answer:
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<A
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HREF="online-resources.html#where-are-linux-legal-issues-discussed"
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><I
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>Where Are Linux Legal Issues Discussed?</I
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></A
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>.
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</P
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></DIV
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="qandaentry"
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><DIV
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CLASS="question"
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><P
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><A
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NAME="pronounce-linux"
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></A
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><B
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>Q: </B
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>How Does One Pronounce Linux?</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="answer"
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><P
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><B
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>A: </B
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>This question produces an outrageous amount of heated debate.
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</P
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><P
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>If you want to hear Linus himself say how he pronounces it, download <TT
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CLASS="filename"
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>english.au</TT
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> or
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<TT
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CLASS="filename"
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>swedish.au</TT
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> from <A
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HREF="ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/Linux/PEOPLE/Linus/SillySounds/"
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TARGET="_top"
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><I
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CLASS="citetitle"
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>ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/Linux/PEOPLE/Linus/SillySounds/</I
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></A
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>.
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If you have a sound card or the PC-speaker audio driver you can hear them by
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typing
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</P
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><P
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><TABLE
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BORDER="0"
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BGCOLOR="#E0E0E0"
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WIDTH="100%"
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><TR
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><TD
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><FONT
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COLOR="#000000"
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><PRE
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CLASS="screen"
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> $ cat english.au >/dev/audio </PRE
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></FONT
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></TD
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></TR
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></TABLE
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>
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</P
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><P
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>The difference isn't in the pronunciation of Linux but in the language
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Linus uses to say, "hello".
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</P
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><P
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>For the benefit of those who
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don't have the equipment or inclination: Linus pronounces Linux approximately
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as <EM
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>Leenus</EM
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>, where the <EM
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>ee</EM
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> is pronounced as in "feet," but rather shorter,
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and the <EM
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>u</EM
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> is like a much shorter version of the French <EM
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>eu</EM
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> sound in
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<EM
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>peur</EM
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> (pronouncing it as the <EM
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>u</EM
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> in "put" is probably passable).
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</P
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></DIV
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="qandaentry"
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><DIV
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CLASS="question"
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><P
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><A
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NAME="how-many-people"
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></A
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><B
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>Q: </B
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>How Many People Use Linux?</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="answer"
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><P
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><B
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>A: </B
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>Linux is freely available, and no one is required to
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register with any central authority, so it is difficult to know.
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Several businesses survive solely on selling and supporting Linux.
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Linux newsgroups are some of the most heavily read on Usenet.
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Accurate numbers are hard to come by, but the number is almost certainly in the millions.
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</P
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><P
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>However, people can register as Linux users at the Linux Counter project,
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which has been in existence since 1993. In May of 2003 the project counted
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more than 134,000 users, but that is certainly only a small fraction of all users.
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The operator of the Linux Counter estimated 18 million users, as of May 2003.
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</P
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><P
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>Visit the Web site at <A
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HREF="http://counter.li.org/"
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TARGET="_top"
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><I
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CLASS="citetitle"
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>http://counter.li.org/</I
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></A
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> and fill in the registration form.
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</P
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><P
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>The current count is posted monthly to
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<A
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HREF="news:comp.os.linux.misc"
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TARGET="_top"
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><I
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CLASS="citetitle"
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>news:comp.os.linux.misc</I
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></A
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>, and is always available from the
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Web site.
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</P
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><P
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>[Harald Tveit Alvestrand]
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</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="answer"
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><P
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><B
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>A: </B
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>In 1999, International Data Corporation released its
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first commercial forecast of Linux sales. The report quantifies Linux vendor
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sales in 1996, 1997, and 1998, and forecasts through the year 2003.
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</P
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><P
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>To obtain the report, contact IDC at <A
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HREF="mailto:ctoffel@idc.com"
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TARGET="_top"
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><I
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CLASS="citetitle"
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>ctoffel@idc.com</I
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></A
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>.
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Their Web site is <A
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HREF="http://www.itresearch.com/"
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TARGET="_top"
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><I
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CLASS="citetitle"
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>http://www.itresearch.com/</I
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></A
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>.
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</P
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></DIV
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></DIV
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></DIV
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="NAVFOOTER"
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><HR
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|
ALIGN="LEFT"
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|
WIDTH="100%"><TABLE
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SUMMARY="Footer navigation table"
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|
WIDTH="100%"
|
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BORDER="0"
|
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CELLPADDING="0"
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CELLSPACING="0"
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><TR
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><TD
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WIDTH="33%"
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ALIGN="left"
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VALIGN="top"
|
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><A
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HREF="intro.html"
|
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ACCESSKEY="P"
|
|
>Prev</A
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></TD
|
|
><TD
|
|
WIDTH="34%"
|
|
ALIGN="center"
|
|
VALIGN="top"
|
|
><A
|
|
HREF="index.html"
|
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ACCESSKEY="H"
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|
>Home</A
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></TD
|
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><TD
|
|
WIDTH="33%"
|
|
ALIGN="right"
|
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VALIGN="top"
|
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><A
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HREF="kernel.html"
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ACCESSKEY="N"
|
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>Next</A
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></TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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|
WIDTH="33%"
|
|
ALIGN="left"
|
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VALIGN="top"
|
|
>Introduction</TD
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><TD
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WIDTH="34%"
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ALIGN="center"
|
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VALIGN="top"
|
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> </TD
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><TD
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WIDTH="33%"
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ALIGN="right"
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>The Linux Kernel</TD
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