Linux is a free operating system that was developed on the Internet. It was created by Linus Torvalds at first, who then put its source code on his web page. Since then, many "hackers" and software programmers have further developed it. It is now a Unix-like operating system that serves as a free alternative not only to Unix, but to Windows as well. One important feature that is not available for other operating systems is the ability to run Linux with other operating systems like MacOS, DOS, Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows ME, Windows XP, Novell, and OS/2 on the same computer. .
Unlike Windows, Linux is a capable of running on a large variety of computer systems, one of them being Intel Based PCs, which is what most home users prefer. Windows can only run on Intel Based PCs. Linux has the capability of running on the Digital Alpha systems so it can reach the advanced users in the bigger companies. Another computer system that can be run with Linux is the Macintosh Power PC, which is generally used by graphical designers, press companies and advertising companies. The others are Sun Sparc, Sun Ultra, Amiga, and the 3Com Palm Pilot (personal digital assistant. .
It is almost impossible to write a virus for Linux because it must be 30-40 Megabytes, to go along with its firewall system that protects the network from hackers and software pirates. Linux is a stable operating system that never fails like the different versions of Windows. In Linux, there are not annoying limitations like Windows 98, where an error message appears on the screen that says you must shutdown your computer. You can kill a process that is not replying with a convenient "kill command." Linux has very good multitasking capabilities unlike Windows. You can run up to twelve processes in the same time without any performance loss. Microsoft claims that Windows has the capability of multitasking but you cannot run two processes at the same time without experiencing severe delays.
