this post was submitted on 15 Jun 2026
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Linux

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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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Maybe younger people won't appreciate this as much, having grown up when this weren't so rare, but nothing quite illustrates to me how far Linux has come than browsing Amazon and seeing "Linux" listed as a first-class citizen on product images. Not buried in the details, not answered in a FAQ, but right there on the product image at the top of the listing. Many of you will remember having to dig through wikis and forums to uncover whether a product was compatible with Linux; and sometimes you still do.

This is only a USB device; it'd be more surprising if it weren't Linux compatible... but that's not the point; the point is that "Linux" is advertised at the top right there after Windows and before Mac OS or Android. That's what still grabs me. Metrics and guestimates are great; in a capitalist world, it's often what advertisements say that indicate a truer story.

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[–] non_burglar@lemmy.world 6 points 6 hours ago

Gaben stands on the shoulders of giants.

Back in the day, we all wanted Google to fill that role...