A Brief History of Linux

1
A Brief History of Linux
By Shawn P. Conroy For the Barrie Users Group
2
Operating System
3
Alexander Graham Bell
4
Elisha Gray
5
First Post!!!!1!!one!
6
Monopoly!
7
Bell Labs
8
Transistor
9
Solar Cell
10
Cosmic Background Radiation
11
C
12
Unix
Unix was created by Ken Thompson and Dennis
Richie on a "spare" DEC PDP-7
13
Why Unix?

• To play games faster on company hardware.
• To experiment more with creating a multi-user
  multi-tasking computer system.
• This didn't happen in Windows until XP.

Ken Thompson and Dennis Richie
14
Every job needs a tool
Hello, World!

• The C programming language was created to be a
  systems programing language.
• C is a... systems implementation language. It
  was designed ... to provide low-level access to
  memory, to provide language constructs that map
  efficiently to machine instructions, and to
  require minimal run-time support. C was therefore
  useful for many applications that had formerly
  been coded in assembly language.
• C has expanded to be used for general application
  use.
• Called C because many features came from an early
  programming language called B.

15
Early Unix History

• Work began in 1970 on Unix.
• The name is a pun on Multics (Unics).
• The first application was a word process (1971).
• C was developed in 1972.
• In 1973 Unix was rewritten in C.
• Writing system code in a language was unheard of.
• Allowed for portability.

16
Unix growth

• For a modest fee Bell Labs would send you the
  source code.
• Became popular for universities and students for
  to us as example code.
• Minix was developed to teach student systems
  level programming.

17
GNU Manifesto

• Richard Stallman started GNU (circa 1985)
• End goal was a free Unix-like system.
• Developed clones of Unix utilities that were
  often better than the originals.
• The kernel was not developed at this time.

18
Linus Torvolds

• Wrote his own Unix-like kernel in 1991.
• To demonstrate his understanding of systems
  programming.
• Released as open source in 1992.
• Named by his friend/file host.

19
Tux

• The Linux Kernel mascot is a penguin named 'Tux'.
• It was chosen by the Linux Benevolent Dictator
  for Life.

20
Choosing a mascot

• In early 1996 people were discussing the need to
  a logo for Linux.
• Several ideas were suggested.
• Linus Torvalds casually mentioned that he was
  rather fond of Penguins - which rather stopped
  the debate in its tracks.
• Mascots are more versatile than corporate logos.

21
Why A Penguin?

• Ok, short version
• I've always liked penguins, and when I was in
  Canberra a few years ago we went to the local zoo
  with Andrew Tridgell (of samba fame). There they
  had a ferocious penguin that bit me and infected
  me with a little known disease called
  penguinitis. Penguinitis makes you stay awake at
  nights just thinking about penguins and feeling
  great love towards them. So when Linux needed a
  mascot, the first thing that came into my mind
  was this picture of the majestic penguin, and the
  rest is history.

22
More down-to-earth version

• More down-to-earth version
• All the other logos were too boring - I wasn't
  looking for the "Linux Corporate Image", I was
  looking for something _fun_ and sympathetic to
  associate with Linux. A slightly fat penguin that
  sits down after having had a great meal fits the
  bill perfectly.
• Some people have told me they don't think a fat
  penguin really embodies the grace of Linux, which
  just tells me they have never seen a angry
  penguin charging at them in excess of 100mph.
  They'd be a lot more careful about what they say
  if they had.

23
Open Source Development

• For example, the GPLv2 in no way limits your use
  of the software. If you're a mad scientist, you
  can use GPLv2'd software for your evil plans to
  take over the world ("Sharks with lasers on their
  heads!!"), and the GPLv2 just says that you have
  to give source code back. And that's OK by me. I
  like sharks with lasers. I just want the mad
  scientists of the world to pay me back in kind. I
  made source code available to them, they have to
  make their changes to it available to me. After
  that, they can fry me with their shark-mounted
  lasers all they want.
• -Linus Torvolds

24
Open Source Model

• Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow. -
  Erich S. Raymond
• FLOSS potentially saves industry over 36 in
  software RD investment that can result in
  increased profits or be more usefully spent in
  further innovation.- Economic impact of open
  source software on innovation and the
  competitiveness of the Information and
  Communication Technologies (ICT) sector in the EU
• Free as in freedom, not beer.

25
Early Linux Growth

• Red Hat founded in 1993 selling their own
  distribution and technical support, currently
  making half a billion dollars a year.
• Unix used to be the major web server operating
  system, but now Linux is widely used as a web
  server.
• Throughout the 90s there was massive improvements
  in usability and a wide growth in the number of
  programs for Linux.

26
Who Uses Linux?

• I am not joking or trying to be trite, but the
  answer to this question is every single person
  in the modern world every day. Everyone who
  searches Google, picks up a phone and uses
  telecommunication infrastructure, watches a new
  televisions, use a new camera, makes a call on
  many modern cell phones, trades a stock on a
  major exchange, watches a weather forecast
  generated on a supercomputer, logs into Facebook,
  navigates via air traffic control systems, buys a
  netbook computer, checks out at a cash register,
  withdraws cash at an ATM machine, fires up a
  quick-boot desktop (even those with Windows), or
  uses one of many medical devices the list goes
  on and on.
• -Jim Zemlin, the executive director of The Linux
  Foundation

27
Current Linux Growth

• By the 21st century Linux distributions began to
  clearly focus on ease of use and ease of install.
• Mandrake/Mandriva Linux was the easiest to
  install and use in the early part of this
  century.
• Currently, Ubuntu Linux is the easiest to install
  with only 6 questions before install begins
• Including language, name, time zone, keyboard,
  confirm hard drive, ready to install?

28
One Linux
Two Linux
Red Linux
Blue Linux
29
(No Transcript)
30
(No Transcript)
31
(No Transcript)
32
(No Transcript)
33
Mark Shuttleworth

• Mark Shuttleworth is a South African
  entrepreneur.
• Lives in London, UK
• Was the second space tourist.
• Was a Debian Developer in the 1990s.

34
Ubuntu

• Mark Shuttleworth founded Canonical Ltd in 2004
  to develop Ubuntu.
• Ubuntu would focus on ease of use.
• An African word meaning 'Humanity to others', or
  'I am what I am because of who we all are'.
• Is a down stream distribution of Debian.

35
(No Transcript)
36
Row, row, row your boat
37
Linux Mint

• Ubuntu Plus
• Adds some more programs.
• Has a better application installer.
• Adds media codecs.
• Comes out of the box with everything a beginner
  needs.

38
(No Transcript)