ABSTRACT
The chapter addresses the questions of what is Linux, who created it, when and why, why Linux is of interest and how to install and start using Linux. In order to understand Linux better, operating systems in general are examined with emphasis on the operating system kernel and a brief look at other operating system components. Various statistics of Linux usage are presented. The development of Linux starts with a history of operating systems followed by the development of Unix and then the role the open-source community had. The more common Linux distributions are compared, and several are selected as a demonstration for how to install Linux (Debian, CentOS, Ubuntu, Linux Mint).
