[[Someone want to insert some URLs here for what Linux is, where a variety of distributions can be found, etc.? ]] http://www.linux.com/ seems to be a general electronic news website (ala our own http://www.tcl.tk/) rather than a 'home' for linux. Linux itself is, as I understand it, some form of open source software. ---- [D. McC]: Uh, yes, specifically some form of open source operating system. It works pretty well; I've been using it on my home desktop computer since 1999. Linux Links: The Linux Portal Site has a lot of free software that runs on Linux, including a number of applications written in Tcl/Tk. [DKF] - Also look at http://freshmeat.org/ IIRC ---- However a variety of commercial entities, including Sun, IBM, Suse, Red Hat, and others, go through the effort to build the sources, provide maintenance contracts, etc. in an effort to add value to the software. One popular distribution of Linux is Suse - where one of the Tcl community works to maintain a great Tcl presence in the distribution. ---- [Csan]: I am using Debian GNU/Linux,[http://www.debian.org] which has been my "favorite Linux distribution for long years now, first and foremost for its technical qualities, and the fact that it is Free Software." - I am quoting [davidw] ---- [Jason Tang]: ''Linux'' is an operating system[[*], much like ''Windows NT'' or ''MacOS''. There are serveral different ''distributions'' of Linux, which combines the core kernel (Linux) with supporting utilities like a command line, graphical interface, utilities (such as Tcl 8.4) and various programs. The argument of which distribution of Linux is best is an endless one that has been raging for years; for those without any Unix experience, Red Hat (http://www.redhat.com), Mandrake (http://www.mandrakelinux.com), and SuSE (http://www.suse.de) seem to be the most popular. Those who are willing to venture may prefer Debian (http://www.debian.org), Slackware (http://www.slackware.org), or Gentoon (http://www.gentoo.org). (Apologies if I did not mention your distribution of choice.) General Linux information may be found at Linux Online (http://www.linux.org) as well as LinuxDocs (http://www.linuxdocs.org). I personally have been using Linux of some form or another for over six years. A proper definition of ''Open Source'' may be found at the Open Source Initiative (http://www.opensource.org). [[*]Technically, ''Linux'' is just the name of a kernel[http://www.kernel.org] created by Linus Torvalds. Most people extend it to include the core kernel, GNU[http://www.gnu.org] utilities, X Window System [http://www.x.org/X11.htm] server [http://www.xfree86.org], and other packages. ----- [Category Operating System]