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It’s August 25th and it’s Linux’s 32nd birthday, so join me in celebrating the birthday of Linux for those of you who celebrate it on this day with a glass of good champagne and a delicious cake!
On August 25th, 1991, the 21-year-old Finnish student Linus Benedict Torvalds made his now-famous announcement on the comp.os.minix newsgroup that he’s working on a free operating system for 386(486) AT clones, just as a “hobby.”
It’s been 32 years since he made that announcement and he probably never dreamed that the so-called “hobby” would turn into something so huge and used by millions of computer users around the globe.
Hello everybody out there using minix –
I’m doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won’t be big and professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT clones. This has been brewing since april, and is starting to get ready. I’d like any feedback on things people like/dislike in minix, as my OS resembles it somewhat (same physical layout of the file-system (due to practical reasons) among other things).
I’ve currently ported bash(1.08) and gcc(1.40), and things seem to work. This implies that I’ll get something practical within a few months, and I’d like to know what features most people would want. Any suggestions are welcome, but I won’t promise I’ll implement them 🙂
Linus
PS. Yes – it’s free of any minix code, and it has a multi-threaded fs. It is NOT portable (uses 386 task switching etc), and it probably never will support anything other than AT-harddisks, as that’s all I have :-(.
Today, Linux is basically everywhere around us, from Android smartphones, Wi-Fi routers, smart assistants, and smart fridges, to big-screen TVs, satellites, and airplanes. Linux even powers the entire Internet, the world’s top 500 supercomputers, Wall Street, and even the ISS (International Space Station).
Even if you don’t use it, Linux is there, believe me!
This is also a reminder for all of us that the phrase “this is the year of Linux” is irrelevant today because Linux has been in our lives for 32 years.
Personally, I’ve enjoyed Linux for more than 23 years now and I still remember my first Mandrake Linux and Red Hat Linux installations, and how hard Slackware Linux was to install.
With that in mind, let’s raise a glass of champagne and wish Linux a happy 32nd birthday!
Here’s to many more years of Linux awesomeness and stay right here on 9to5Linux.com for the latest Linux news and Open Source software releases.
Last updated 8 months ago
