Linux

Linux...what it it?! Linux is an operating system. More accurately understood, it is a kernel. A kernel is the system level code that controls everything on your computer...regardless of if you have Windows, Mac, Android, a Raspberry Pi, or a massive server computer...you have a kernel. It oversees everything that happens on the computer. There is a Windows kernel, Mac kernel, Android kernel, etc. If you want to print something, you are NOT talking to the pinter. You are telling the kernel print this and the kernel then relays that to the printer. If you want to open a file, you talk to the kernel, it checks the permissions that you are allowed to open the file, then talks to the hard drive and opens it in your chosen application.

The Linux kernel is a very secure, responsive, stable, and small! This means it is perfect for running important things like switches, routers, old computers, and servers. According to some reports, Linux runs 70-95% of the internet. That doesn't include, for example, your computer...it doesn't run the internet...just connects to it. The computer that this blog is running from is a Linux server.

If you have a law background, consider Linux this way. If a law is long it is easier to find loopholes or issues with the wording and makes it easier to get out of. Something like, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceable to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of greivences". That is, of course, the 1st Amendment to the US Constitution. It is short, sweet, and to the point. Because it is short, it is harder for the Government to find ways around it's limitations. A kernel is exactly that...a list of laws and actions.

The nice thing about Linux is that people have built a variety of software that can run on it and a variety of appearances. On Windows...you have one appearance (not meaning colors)...one way the windows can look. On Mac you are restricted to what Apple says. On Linux, there are 3 main desktops, KDE, Gnome, and XFCE. Some Linux software developers make their own like Cinnamon or MATE. There are others as well.

So if you have an old computer that you've recently replaced, installing Linux on it could breathe new life into it and give you something to play with! I recommend Ubuntu (Oo-bun-too) or Linux Mint. There are others that look more like Windows or Mac OS if you are worried about it. Just search for "Windows looking Linux distro" or "Mac looking Linux distro". A "distro" is a distribution of the Linux kernel that includes all the necessary things for the operating system to work.