For Dummies Linux, 9th Edition 978-0-470-46701-5 用户手册
产品代码
978-0-470-46701-5
Chapter 1
Getting Acquainted with Linux
In This Chapter
▶
Diving into Linux origins and features
▶
Telling Linux apart from the rest of the operating system pack
▶
Depending on GNU and the GPL
▶
Marveling at the Linux Company (or lack thereof)
▶
Checking out popular Linux distributions
Ford, you’re turning into a penguin. Stop it!
— Arthur Dent
W
elcome to the world of Linux, the operating system developed by
more than a thousand people around the world! In this chapter, you
more than a thousand people around the world! In this chapter, you
find out about Linux itself — what it is, where it comes from, and why it gets
so much attention in the news these days. Prepare to have your assumptions
challenged about how software must be developed and sold, and open your
mind to new possibilities.
so much attention in the news these days. Prepare to have your assumptions
challenged about how software must be developed and sold, and open your
mind to new possibilities.
Is Free Really Free?
Understanding Linux requires a radical shift of thought regarding the way
that you acquire and use computer software. (Note: By radical, we mean get-
ting to the root of the matter, rather than putting on beads and camping out
in the administration building.) Your first step toward shifting your mind-set
is to alter your general connotation of the word free to represent freedom,
rather than free lunch. That’s right; you can sell “free” software for a fee . . .
and you’re encouraged to do so, as long as you relay the same freedom to
each recipient of the software.
that you acquire and use computer software. (Note: By radical, we mean get-
ting to the root of the matter, rather than putting on beads and camping out
in the administration building.) Your first step toward shifting your mind-set
is to alter your general connotation of the word free to represent freedom,
rather than free lunch. That’s right; you can sell “free” software for a fee . . .
and you’re encouraged to do so, as long as you relay the same freedom to
each recipient of the software.
COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL