Linux

Linux is an implementation of the Unix kernel originally written from scratch by with no proprietary code.

History
The kernel runs on Intel and Alpha hardware in the general release, with, PowerPC, , ARM, , Atari, and in active development. The SPARC, PowerPC, ARM, Power Mac -, and 68k ports all support shells, X and networking. The Intel and SPARC versions have reliable.

Work on the kernel is coordinated by, who holds the copyright on a large part of it. The rest of the copyright is held by a large number of other contributors (or their employers). Regardless of the copyright ownerships, the kernel as a whole is available under the (GPL). The GNU project supports Linux as its kernel until the research kernel is completed.

This kernel would be no use without application programs. The GNU project has provided large numbers of quality tools, and together with other software it is a rich Unix environment. A compilation of the Linux kernel and these tools is known as a Linux distribution. Compatibility modules and/or emulators exist for dozens of other computing environments.

The kernel version numbers are significant: the odd numbered series (e.g. 1.3.xx) is the development (or beta) kernel which evolves very quickly. Stable (or release) kernels have even major version numbers (e.g. 1.2.xx).

Distribution
There is a lot of commercial support for and use of Linux, both by hardware companies such as, IBM, Apple and numerous smaller network and integration specialists. There are many commercially supported distributions which are generally entirely under the GPL. At least one distribution vendor guarantees POSIX compliance. Linux is particularly popular for internet service providers, and there are ports to both parallel supercomputers and embedded microcontrollers. Android,, , and are popular  distributions. Chrome OS from Google is a notable commercial distribution.

Pronunciation
The pronunciation of "Linux" has been a matter of much debate. Many, including Torvalds, insist on the short I pronunciation li'nuks because "Linus" has an ee sound in Swedish (Linus's family is part of Finland's 6% ethnic-Swedish minority) and Linus considers English short i to be closer to ee than English long i: dipthong. This is consistent with the short I in words like "linen". This doesn't stop others demanding a long I li:'nuks following the english pronunciation of "Linus" and "minus". Others say li'niks following, which Torvalds was working on before Linux.

Tutorials

 * Guide to Installing Linux on a Mac by Zeeman Memon at Linux Hint (2019-11)
 * How to install & set up Linux on a Mac by Lucy Hattersley at Macworld (2016-10-06)
 * How to install Linux on a Macintosh and dual boot with macOS by Alistair Ross at The Ultimate Linux Newbie Guide (2019-02-03)
 * Create a bootable USB stick on macOS at Ubuntu
 * Test drive Ubuntu on your Mac with Ubuntu.app