Why use UNIX or Linux?
How are we so sure? Well, UNIX & Linux variants are running on over two billion devices today, accounting for roughly 75% of all known devices. In this version of UNIX Corner, we’re going to take a high-level tour through the history of UNIX (and Linux).
1970s and 1980s
Early 1980s
January 8, 1982
The AT&T Bell monopoly is broken up.
The New York Times
1983
AT&T releases UNIX System V as a commercially licensed product rather than a research tool.
Image by Thomas Schanz – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
September 27, 1983
The loss of freedom through licensing spurred the creation of the GNU Project. The project’s goal was to create a new platform that will continue to allow users the freedom to use, share, study, and modify software.
Image by Aurelio A. Heckert <aurium@gmail.com> – gnu.org, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link
August 25, 1991
Linus Torvalds creates a new Unix-like system core, called the “Linux kernel”, which becomes incorporated into the GNU Project. Software descending from the combination of these projects is now known as “Linux”.
Image by lewing@isc.tamu.edu Larry Ewing and The GIMP, Attribution, Link
2008
Google’s Android OS is released for mobile devices, based on the Linux kernel, which quickly propels the Linux kernel forward. By 2013, Linux became the most widely used operating system.
Image by Google – File:Android robot.svg, https://android.com, CC BY 3.0, Link
