Assignment 1

1, Compare the differences between free open source software and proprietary software
Open Source Software Proprietary Software
It refers to software that is developed and It refers to the software that is solely
tested though open collaboration. owned by the individual or the
organization that developed it
Anyone with the academic knowledge Only the owner or publisher who hold
can access, inspect, modify and the legal property rights of the source
redistribute the source code. code can access it.
The project is managed by an open The project is managed by a close group
software community of developers and of individual or team that developed it.
programmer.
They are not aimed at unskilled user They are focused on a limited market of
outside of the programming community. both skilled and unskilled end user.
It provides better flexibility which means There is a very limited scope of
more freedom which encourges innovation with the restrictions and all
innovation.

2,  Explain the history of Linux and GNU project

Linux
Linux is a freely distributable version of Unix, originally developed by Linus
Torvalds, who began work on Linux in 1991 as a student at the University of Helsinki
in Finland. Linus now works for Transmeta Corporation, a start-up in Santa Clara,
California, and continues to maintain the Linux kernel, that is, the lowest-level core
component of the operating system.
Linus released the initial version of Linux for free on the Internet, inadvertently
spawning one of the largest software-development phenomena of all time. Today,
Linux is authored and maintained by a group of several thousand (if not more)
developers loosely collaborating across the Internet. Companies have sprung up to
provide Linux support, to package it into easy-to-install distributions, and to sell
workstations pre-installed with the Linux software. In March 1999, the first Linux
World Expo trade show was held in San Jose, California, with reportedly well over
12,000 people in attendance. Most estimates place the number of Linux users
worldwide somewhere around the 10 million mark (and we expect this number will
look small by the time you read this).
GNU project
Richard Stallman (RMS) started GNU in 1983, as a project to create a complete free
operating system. In the text of the GNU Manifesto, he mentioned that there is a
primitive kernel. In the first GNUsletter, Feb. 1986, he says that GNU's kernel is
TRIX, which was developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
By December of 1986, the Free Software Foundation (FSF) had "started working on
the changes needed to TRIX" [Gnusletter, Jan. 1987]. Shortly thereafter, the FSF
began "negotiating with Professor Rashid of Carnegie-Mellon University about
working with them on the development of the Mach kernel" [Gnusletter, June, 1987].
The text implies that the FSF wanted to use someone else's work, rather than have to
fix TRIX.

In [Gnusletter, Feb. 1988], RMS was talking about taking Mach and putting the
Berkeley Sprite filesystem on top of it, "after the parts of Berkeley Unix... have been
replaced."

Six months later, the FSF is saying that "if we can't get Mach, we'll use TRIX or
Berkeley's Sprite." Here, they present Sprite as a full-kernel option, rather than just a
filesystem.

In January, 1990, they say "we aren't doing any kernel work. It does not make sense
for us to start a kernel project now, when we still hope to use Mach" [Gnusletter, Jan.
1990]. Nothing significant occurs until 1991, when a more detailed plan is announced:

We are still interested in a multi-process kernel running on top of Mach. The CMU
lawyers are currently deciding if they can release Mach with distribution conditions
that will enable us to distribute it. If they decide to do so, then we will probably start
work. CMU has available under the same terms as Mach a single-server partial Unix
emulator named Poe; it is rather slow and provides minimal functionality. We would
probably begin by extending Poe to provide full functionality. Later we hope to have a
modular emulator divided into multiple processes. [Gnusletter, Jan. 1991].
RMS explains the relationship between the Hurd and Linux, where he mentions that
the FSF started developing the Hurd in 1990. As of [Gnusletter, Nov. 1991], the Hurd
(running on Mach) is GNU's official kernel.
3, List the Linux distributions you know and the characteristics of these distributions
1. Ubuntu
Ubuntu is actually a relatively late arrival on the Linux scene, having been announced
in just 2004, but it's more than made up for that shorter history. Founded by South
African millionaire Mark Shuttleworth, Canonical--the company behind Ubuntu--for
many years shipped Ubuntu CDs to interested users for free, thus speeding its market
penetration.
Ubuntu is based on Debian (see below) and includes well-known apps such as Firefox
and OpenOffice.org. It has a predictable, six-month release schedule, with occasional
Long Term Support (LTS) versions that are supported with security updates for three
to five years.
It's also worth understanding that Ubuntu is available in various remixes and spin-off
sub-distros targeted at specific niches, such as Kubuntu, Xubuntu and Lubuntu. Most
of these differ primarily by offering a desktop environment other than Ubuntu's
standard GNOME.
2. Fedora
Fedora is the free version of Red Hat, whose RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux) has
been a commercial product since 2003. Because of that close connection, Fedora is
particularly strong on enterprise features, and it often offers them before RHEL does.

Fedora also offers a six-month release schedule, and its security features are excellent.
While some have viewed it as a cutting-edge distro for the Linux "hobbyist," I think
improvements over the years and widespread popularity have combined to make it a
good choice for newer Linux users as well.

3. Linux Mint
Currently in Distrowatch's third spot in popularity, Linux Mint is an Ubuntu-based
distro that was just launched in 2006. The operating system adds to Ubuntu with its
own, distinct desktop theme and a different set of applications; also unique to the
distro are a variety of graphical tools for enhanced usability, such as mintDesktop for
configuring the desktop environment, mintInstall for easier software installation and
mintMenu for easier navigation.

Mint enjoys a well-deserved reputation for ease of use, so it's another good one for
beginning users. It also includes some proprietary multimedia codecs that are often
absent from larger distributions, thereby enhancing its hardware compatibility. Mint
doesn't have a fixed release schedule, but typically a new version comes out shortly
after each stable Ubuntu release.

4. openSUSE
With some 1,200 hits per day on Distrowatch, openSUSE holds the No. 4 spot in
popularity on the site and is also the foundation for Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise
Desktop and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server products.
The package's administration utility, YaST, is widely acknowledged as one of the best,
and its boxed edition comes with some of the best printed documentation you'll find
for any distro. I'd say openSUSE rates a "medium" on difficulty level.

5. PCLinuxOS
Rather than GNOME, PCLinuxOS uses the KDE desktop environment and is
essentially a lighter-weight version of Mandriva (see below). With good support for
graphics drivers, browser plugins and media codecs, PCLinuxOS can be a good choice
for beginners. Its release cycle can be erratic, though, and there is also no 64-bit
version of the software.