this post was submitted on 21 Mar 2026
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Linux
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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Linux runs the entire internet, a good part of corporate-level servers and it dominates the supercomputing space, you can't get more mainstream than that.
As for desktop use, most people around the world don't know what an operating system is, some even believe the browser IS the internet.
With such tech-illiteracy there's no way Linux can be widely adopted, because no opensource project can beat Microsoft commercial power in "convincing" PC vendors to offer it preinstalled, yes a few do, but they're very scarce compared to those offering Windows, some even claim you will break the warranty if you install something different than what comes preinstalled (Windows), such a claim is illegal in many countries but some people don't know any better.
If you don't know what an OS is, you have no reason to change, unless you're lucky and have a friend or family member doing the work for you, but you can't rely on that for the entire world.