The History of Gnu/Linux

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In the beginning of the age of the modern computer, programmers worked around the clock, creating code for their employers for use in proprietary computer systems. These elite programmers enjoyed challenging one another and frequently enjoyed stretching modern systems to their limits. These programmers became know as "hackers" for their talents at dissecting and working around difficult problems, often searching for the most elegant or most efficient solution possible. Unlike the vision of hackers as portrayed by the 1990's media., these hackers refrained from any illegal activities. The best hackers viewed such things as breaking into computer systems as immature and childish. The media derives their definition of a hacker from only a small subset of the hacker culture which did engage in illegal activities. Such a blatant generalization and stereotypical attitude only encourages hackers to stick together and prove to the world that legitimate working-class professionals constituted the majority of this community. The idea that all hackers break into computer systems seemed as absurd as the idea that all policemen stuffed their faces with dough nuts every day; while of course some hackers did break into systems and some policemen do in fact stuff their face with sweet treats, this of course is no the norm. The offending group about which these steriotypes derived make up a small percentage of the overall population of the community. These hackers formed a dynamic community that thrived on the exchange of programming code and freedom of distribution; however, when large corporations threatened these basic freedoms through the use of proprietary software with strict licensing agreements,, the forerunners of the...

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...rity among developers, especially those that use it at home. Since Linux and the major versions of Unix are similar, code developed on one platform usually can be ported to another. They also can use the same tools, such as the GNU tools from the Free Software Foundation. ("Geeks")

The GNU/Linux operating system will likely continue to grow in popularity throughout the decade initially with hackers and then with consumers.

Works Cited

Moody, Glen. Rebel Code. New York: Perseus Publishing, 2001.

Patrizio, Andy. "Unix: Not Just For Geeks Anymore." InformationWeek 5 Mar. 2001: 63-6.

Peterson, Richard. Linux: The Complete Reference, Fifth Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill/Osborne, 2002.

Stallman, Richard. "The GNU Project." Free Software Foundation (FSF). 2001. <http://www.gnu.org/gnu/thegnuproject.html>.

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