Life of Linux

Doghouse – Linux History

Article from Issue 215/2018
Author(s):

"maddog" takes us on a brief tour of Linux history.

I am writing this article in Montevideo, Uruguay, on the 68th anniversary of my birthday in 2018. It also happens to be the month that this magazine offers all 200+ issues on a DVD, dating back to October 2000, which brings back lots of memories for me.

These issues do not reach back to the beginning of the Linux kernel. No magazine does, because when Linus started the kernel project in 1991, it was "just for fun." Few (if any) people imagined that this fledgling project would significantly affect computing.

After all, in 1991, Microsoft ruled the desktop (with a relatively few "apples" thrown in) and proprietary systems (MVS, VMS, Unix, and others) ruled the data center. The idea that a university student would someday challenge these proprietary operating systems created by companies like IBM, Digital Equipment Corporation, Sun Microsystems, and others with a kernel written by a gang of "amateurs" was absurd. Microsoft was busy trying to advance their wunderkind WNT (Windows NT), and even the publisher O'Reilly seemed to have given up on Unix systems, producing more and more books about programming with Microsoft.

[...]

Use Express-Checkout link below to read the full article (PDF).

Buy this article as PDF

Express-Checkout as PDF
Price $2.95
(incl. VAT)

Buy Linux Magazine

SINGLE ISSUES
 
SUBSCRIPTIONS
 
TABLET & SMARTPHONE APPS
Get it on Google Play

US / Canada

Get it on Google Play

UK / Australia

Related content

  • maddog's Doghouse

    Maddog gives a brief history of the last (almost) half century of *x, plus a call for spreading the love.

  • maddog's Doghouse

    Thinking about the history of Linux, maddog sheds light on why there are so many different flavors of operating systems.

  • maddog's Doghouse

    Using your time to introduce someone to Linux can enrich their world and the free software community – and improve your own understanding in the process.

  • Doghouse – Filesystem Standards

    maddog explains the importance of single-user mode and filesystem hierarchy standards.

  • Doghouse: Meet the maddog

    Jon 'maddog' Hall introduces himself and rolls out the first installment in his new monthly community-focused column.

comments powered by Disqus
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters

Support Our Work

Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

Learn More

News