Što je Linux?

Kad čujete riječ Linux, možda pomislite na bradate programere kako tipkaju neshvatljiv kod na crnom zaslonu. Dobre vijesti - stvari su se promjenile!

Slika

Linux je operacijski sustav, veliki komad softvera koji upravlja vašim računalom. Sličan je Microsoftovim Windowsima, ali je potpuno slobodan. GNU/Linux je točniji naziv ali češće se koristi "Linux".

Linux is not one company's product, but a number of companies and groups of people contribute to it. In fact, the GNU/Linux system is a core component, which is branched off into many different products. They are called distributions.

Distribucije u potpunosti mijenjaju izgled i funkcionalnost Linuxa. Postoje u rasponu od velikih sustava, potpuno podržanih od strane poduzeća, do malenih koji stanu na prijenosnu USB memoriju ili rade na starim računalima i kakve često razvijaju volonteri.
Ugledna i kompletna distribucija, pogodna za prvi korak u svijet Linuxa je Ubuntu.

Korištenje Linuxa

GNU/Linux is no harder to use than Windows, and has many more capabilities. It just takes a dozen minutes to get familiar with a distribution like Ubuntu or Fedora, which come in with many programs installed.

If you need commercial-quality software to work with business documents, Internet/networking, or multimedia and graphics, it's there right out of the box. Want more than that? Linux can do – there are many hundreds of free, high quality applications you can find, install and uninstall neatly and easily.

You shouldn't assume however, that Linux is a clone of Windows. To know what to expect when stepping into it, we suggest you read our Making the switch page.

The larger picture

When you get a distribution of GNU/Linux, you also get the freedom to study, copy, change, and redistribute it – that's what makes it truly free software.

Many companies develop their own operating system based on the core GNU software: products they do not have exclusive rights on. How does the wheel turn?

• Most companies make a profit by selling support and services around their GNU/Linux distribution. Corporate customers buy guaranteed security updates and assistance. Other services often include training and on-demand improvements to software.
• Some companies, such as HP or IBM, contribute to Linux because they pre-install it on servers they sell.
• An extremely wide community participates in the development and improvement of software, decreasing costs and improving efficiency.

In the end, individual end-users often get the software at zero cost, while corporate customers are often happy to pay for more support.