The Linux kernel is an operating system kernel used by the Linux family of Unix-like operating systems.[5] The term Linux distribution is used to refer to the various operating systems that run on top of the Linux kernel.
The Linux kernel is released under the GNU General Public License version 2 (GPLv2)[4] plus proprietary licenses for some controversial BLOBs and is developed by contributors worldwide; Linux is one of the most prominent examples of free / open source software.[6]. Day-to-day development takes place on the Linux kernel mailing list.
The Linux kernel was initially conceived and created by Finnish software engineering student Linus Torvalds in 1991. Early on, the MINIX community contributed code and ideas to the Linux kernel. At the time, the GNU Project had created many of the components required for a free software operating system, but its own kernel, GNU Hurd, was incomplete and unavailable. The BSD operating system had not yet freed itself from legal encumbrances. This meant that despite the limited functionality of the early versions, Linux rapidly accumulated developers and users who adopted code from those projects for use with the new operating system.[7] The Linux kernel has received contributions from thousands of programmers.[8]
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all of which run off of the linux kernel ...netbooks my misinformed friend are here to stay for quite a while. by SactoGuy018 July 9, 2009 2:50 PM PDT One ...
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