Intro_to_Linux/Intro_to_Linux.Rmd at main · KevinShook/Intro_to_Linux · GitHub

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---
title: "Introduction to Linux"
author: "Filip Strnad and Kevin Shook"
date: "24/01/2021"
output:
    beamer_presentation:
     theme: "default"
     colortheme: "whale"
---

```{r setup, include=FALSE}
knitr::opts_chunk$set(echo = FALSE)
```

## What is Linux, and why should I care about it?

 - Linux is a family of Free Open Source Software (FOSS) operating systems
which is widely used.

 - Linux is particularly well-suited to academics, researchers, and sofware developers

 - This presentation will introduce you to Linux, and will show you how you can use it to make your computing more enjoyable and productive

## History - Unix

 - The operating system Unix was developed at Bell Labs in the U.S.A. in the 1970s
 - Very widely used, but proprietary
 - Many tools (like the C language) were developed with and for Unix

## History - GNU
 - The GNU (GNU's not Unix) project was developed in the 1990s to produce a free version of Unix
 - https://www.gnu.org/
 - based on 4 freedoms:
 (0) to run the program,
 (1) to study and change the program in source code form,
 (2) to redistribute exact copies, and
 (3) to distribute modified versions.
 - GNU produced most of the OS, and the tools including language compilers, but never completed the kernel, which controls the hardware

## History - Linux Torvalds
 - in 1991 Linus Torvals, a Finnish teenager, started working on Linux, a FOSS
unix-like kernel
 - version 1.0 released in 1994
 - Linux + GNU provides basis for many operating systems
 - Linux development is sponsored by the Linux Foundation, a non-profit, which pays Linus to develop Linux
 - Most of Linux is written by others, including programmers from large companies like IBM, Amazon, Red Hat and Microsoft
 - Now the largest cooperative project in the world, and the largest codebase in the world.

## History - today
 - Linux is the most widely used operating system kernel in the world
 - Most servers
   - Google
   - Amazon
   - Microsoft Azure cloud
 - All supercomputers
 - Android
 - Chromebooks
 - About 2% of desktop/laptops

## Distros
- There are many different Linux distributions ("Distros")
  - some are for primarily for servers (Red Hat, Debian)
  - some are for desktops (Ubuntu, Mint)
  - some are for experts (Arch, Gentoo)
- All versions can run the same applications
- Differences are in
  - how support is provided
  - how often the distro is upgraded
  - how software is installed
  - default software

## Why should I use Linux?
 - Many different reasons, but most come down to freedom and power
   - Four freedoms
   - Power results from these
 - Linux was developed by its users, for their benefit
 - **All** proprietary operating systems (Windows, MacOS) were developed by corporations to benefit _them_!

## Linux advantages - setting up
1. you can download the source for linux
   - https://github.com/torvalds/linux
   - sources for almost all software on linux also available
   - windows: closed source, can't view

2. you can install updates without rebooting your machine
   - true for most software
   - true of even the kernel itself on > 4.0
   - windows: requires reboot

3. you can plug devices in without worrying about finding/downloading drivers
   - exception: some highly specialized devices
   - windows: requires download


## Linux avantages - running Linux
4. you can run linux from a pen drive, cd, dvd, etc.
   - windows: no such option exists

5. you can run linux for years without rebooting
   - ultra stable
   - less memory fragmentation
   - windows: system becomes slow over time

6. you can run linux on almost any hardware
   - this includes computers/laptops from the 80s and 90s
   - windows: minimum requirements often require hardware

7. you can fix broken linux installs with a live cd
   - sometimes broken windows can be fixed with a linux live cd
   - windows: system repair is only option

8. you can update all of your software often with a single command
   - windows: windows update only updates windows

9. you can move a hard drive from one linux machine to another
   - largely made possible by not needing specific drivers
   - windows: system often will not function properly
   - windows: moving a hard drive often requires a new license as well

10. you can customize quite literally anything
   - fonts, icons, themes, etc.
   - there are even windows and mac themes on linux
   - windows: some customization is available, but not near the extent of linux

11. you can install software without worrying about viruses and malware
   - implies also that no anti-virus software is needed
   - don't need to download programs from sketchy websites
   - not dependent on manufacturer's store
   - software from official repositories will never contain malicious software

12. Linux is more secure
   - FOSS is more secure (and has fewer bugs)
   - Windows and MacOS security through obscurity is much less secure

13. Linux is better for programming
   - built _by_ developers _for_ developers
   - _all_ languages are built in: C, C++, R, Python, Fortran, Rust, awk etc
   - editors and IDEs
   - version control: git

14. Linux doesn't spy on you
   - Windows 10 and MacOS report _everything_ you do
   - MacOS reports your locationa and every program you run
   https://sneak.berlin/20201112/your-computer-isnt-yours/