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by Charles Miller

An Operating System (OS, and frequently capitalized) is the software that manages a computer's hardware. It is sometimes referred to as the “kernel.” Any time your computer or portable device is turned on the OS is running in order to allow all your other software to have access to your computer’s processor, memory, video, keyboard, mouse, sound system, etc. etc. The most popular OSs for the Personal Computer market are Microsoft Windows, Apple MacOS, and Google Android. The OS running on your smart phone is probably Apple iOS or Google Android. Completely unseen by almost all users is that every time they connect any device to the internet the web page to which they connect is nearly always using an OS by the name of Linux.

Linux is not a single OS provided by one company, as is the case with Apple and Microsoft. The “community” of different Linux products can best be compared to the automotive industry where many different companies make competing models of cars all of which can share the same roads. Similarly, different flavors of Linux produced by different companies including Debian, Ubuntu, CentOS, Red Hat, and others all run in harmony on the same internet.

Linux absolutely dominates the server landscape with probably 80% of the web sites on the worldwide internet running on various distributions (versions) of Linux. Compared to Linux, internet servers running on Microsoft Windows or Apple MacOS are very much in the minority.

There are several easily-understood reasons for Linux’s dominance in the server world. The first is cost. Some distributions of Linux are free, others are low cost. Microsoft servers can cost thousands of dollars per year in licensing fees.

Linux is open source, meaning that anyone may read and customize the source code. Microsoft’s source code, and Apple’s, are closely-guarded secrets.

Linux is generally considered to be much more secure than Windows or MacOS. Being open-source encourages rapid identification and patching of vulnerabilities that are discovered.

And Linux is known for stability and reliability. It can run for years without needing a reboot or update or maintenance, though that is not always advisable. This is the reason why you are already using Linux every day even though you might never have noticed.

For many years Linux has been used to operate embedded computer systems. Examples of embedded systems include the electronics in your car and the gas pump used to fill its tank, ATM cash machines, cash registers, credit card readers, and other Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals, gaming consoles, etc. If you are at home reading this, then you probably have a modem provided you by your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and it is almost 99% certain that modem runs on Linux. Elsewhere in your home you might have a SmartTV, microwave oven, security cameras, printer, medical devices, smart thermostat, and other appliances that run on Linux. Thank goodness there is an inexpensive and reliable OS available, and many of these gizmos, unlike your computer or smart phone, can run for years without the need for constant upgrades.

So you see, even if you do not see it, Linux is very important to you. Linux powers the internet and is the Operating System software that enables many billions of smart devices to be smart.

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Charles Miller is a freelance computer consultant with decades of IT experience and a Texan with a lifetime love for Mexico. The opinions expressed are his own. He may be contacted at 415-101-8528 or email FAQ8 (at) SMAguru.com.

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