Glossary
You might encounter a lot of gibberish further on in the guide, words you‟ve probably never
heard of in your life. To lend you a helping hand, we‟ve spelled out some of the most
prominent ones, and their meanings.
Kernel - the core functionality of an operating system, it translates commands from other
software directly to the hardware interfaces.
Distributions - operating systems based on the Linux kernel.
CLI/Terminal - stands for Command Line Interface, a method of interaction with the computer
based on text commands entered at the prompt.
GUI - stands for Graphical User Interface, a method of interaction with the computer that
makes use of visual representations of elements: files, folders and actions. It is the standard
environment for modern consumer oriented operating systems.
Introduction to Linux, FLOSS and the GPL license
Many people believe that learning Linux is hard, that only system administrators can use it
and dismiss the idea from the very beginning. Others would continue in their search only to
find bits of information scattered all around the internet – without the cohesion necessary for
that knowledge to become useful; sometimes the information is written for experienced
users, leavingthose who don‟t know what CLI is, in the dark. This guide‟s goal is to bringthe
essentials of Linux together, helping less savvy Windows users migrate easily.
If you‟re new to Linux you might make a common mistake and assume that it is an operating
system. Well, that‟s not true. Instead, when you say Linux, you refer to any of the operating
systems that are based on the Linux kernel, like Fedora, Ubuntu or openSuSE.
The kernel, some say the most important aspect about an operating system, is the mediator
between the hardware and the other software applications that may run on it, the lowest
abstraction layer.
What‟s different about the Linux kernel? Like most of the applications that run on top of it, it is
actively maintained by the Free/Libre/Open Source Software community, which is also
known as FLOSS. FLOSS software comes completely free of charge and everyone is
entitled to look at the source code and modify it as he pleases.
This means that skilled developers from around the world contribute their work either for free, or via sponsorships from companies like Canonical or IBM. But you can improve the software as well.
Microsoft‟s Windows source code is not availableto anyone but Microsoft employees, and it
constitutes a felony to decompile or reverse engineer it. You can‟t build your own Windows
kernel, fix bugs, or distribute an improved version of Windows that you created.
“The word "free" in our name does not refer to price; it refers to freedom. First, the freedom to
copy a program and redistribute it to your neighbors, so that they can use it as well as you. Second,
the freedom to change a program, so that you can control it instead of it controlling you; for this,
the source code must be made available to you.” –Free Software Definition by Richard Stallman
There are many reasons why Linux is better, and discussing them is beyond the scope of
this guide. Nonetheless it‟s good to know that Linux is inherently secure, portable and
doesn‟t need to reboot as often as Windows.
Choosing the Distribution
Most Linux distributions come with a so-called „base system‟ that comprises most of the
applications the typical computer user would need. These distributions are usually popular
and are updated constantly with new drivers and applications. Ubuntu, Fedora, SuSE , by far
the most popular Linux systems, are generally considered to be easy to use for a newbie,
although they still have the power tools that advanced users are accustomed to.
Another important aspect about switching to Linux is hardware compatibility. While most
hardware is supported by default in most Linux distributions, less popular or quirky hardware
might not work. For example, my ENE integrated card reader won‟t work with Ubuntu, and I
still haven‟t found a solution for that. Most of thetimes, even if your device isn‟t supported by
default you will be able to follow tutorials posted online that guide you through installing an
unsupported driver or patching the kernel .
There are many Linux distributions available, and each one is a bit different. Choosing the
one that‟s right for you might seem difficult at first, but it‟s actually a problem you want to
have. Each of the distributions is fine-tuned to serve a different niche. This way you can
install an operating system that was built for multimedia creation or one that was created for
computers with low hardware specifications.
I invite you to go to distrowatch.com. On the right side you‟ll notice there‟s a Top 100 list of
the most popular distributions. Read through the description and the reviews of the top 10 on
the list. Because this is probably your first contact with Linux, we‟ll assume that you want to
install Ubuntu.
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