this post was submitted on 05 Mar 2024
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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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When I was first using Linux, the bios could only read the first 100 megs of your hard drive. Your bootloader and config had to be there and your initrd and kernel had to fit in there as well. It was a lot easier to keep things small also. A coworker of mine and I built a 100 meg Linux distro to pxe boot thin clients.
/Me wonders off and starts muttering about calculaing mode lines on a CRT...