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For new comers, Linux is a free Unix-type operating system. The Linux kernel was created by Linus Torvalds. A kernel is software that communicates between computer applications and hardware. It provides the system services like file management, virtual memory, device Input/Output, etc. The GNU project developed and wrote, under the GNU General Public License, software applications to combine with the kernel to make an Operating System. The term GNU/Linux is usually used when referring to Linux.

You obtain Linux as a "distribution". Distributions are a combination of the GNU/Linux Operating System, custom configurations, installation programs, utilities and applications. You can download free distributions over the Internet or you can buy a commercial version. There are a number of distributions created by for-profit companies such as: Redhat, Debian, S.u.S.E. and Mandrake.