Linux And Unix

Essay by PaperNerd ContributorUniversity, Bachelor's May 2001

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Computers haven't always worked together and shared data effortlessly. Unix and Linux changed the computer world by letting computers of different types work together well. Networking is now a major part of the computer industry. Linux is based closely after Unix with elements of DOS and Minix. Now Linux has the chance to overthrow Windows to become the top O.S. Linux has many clear advantages but it is not for a novice computer user.

Linux is an operating system far more powerful than the ordinary Mac or Windows O.S. Many serious computer users use them because they grant total control over the computers functions. "I would like to point out that Linux is the first operating system in major use created outside of the United States of America."� (Hall, 12) A computer with Linux can be adapted to the type of user you are. Linux is very popular with network administrators, hackers, and computer programmers.

Linux is also free to distribute and a professional distribution is very low priced to buy. The newest version of Red Hat Linux is about $30. Windows 2000 costs about $150. Red Hat, Caldera, Corel Linux, Slackware, Debian, and many others are competing to be the best distribution of Linux. This is good because the quality of Linux is constantly going up and prices are going down. Each distribution of Linux has a totally different setup and install process.

Unix was created in Bell Laboratories, under the AT&T in 1969. Unix was originally created by researchers in the Lab as a tool to enable them to work together. Unix could not become a commercial under AT&T. It was, however, installed at some colleges and universities. In 1984, the University of California at Berkeley released version 4.2BSD, which included TCP/IP networking protocols. Systems based on this...