Linus Torvalds: The beginning of the era of Linux

Linus Torvalds, born December 28, 1969 in Helsinki, Finland, is a computer engineer, the main character behind the development of the Linux operating system. 

At the age of 10, Torvalds began to get used to computer programs on his grandfather's Commodore VIC-20. In 1991, while studying computer science at the University of Helsinki, he bought his first computer (PC). However, Linus was not happy with the computer's operating system. The PC then used MS-DOS (the operating system installed from Microsoft's disk), but he preferred the UNIX operating system being run on his university computers.

Over many days of programming, an operating system called Linux was born. In 1991, he posted a notice on the Internet, saying that his new operating system software was freely available online. And as a way of training among the programmers, he posted the source code, which allows anyone with a computer programming knowledge to modify Linux to suit the intended use of the yourself. And thanks to that source code stream, many developers helped Torvalds refactor the software, and in 1994, the Linux kernel (source code) released version 1.0.

Using the Linux operating system requires a certain amount of computer knowledge. It is not as easy to use as common operating systems: Windows, MacOS or IBM OS / 2. However, Linux has achieved incredible reliability, a system that works extremely smoothly. Linux became popular in the late 90s of the last century, when rival Microsoft began to show more professionalism in its operating system versions.

Netscape Communications Corp., Corel Corp., Oracle Corp., Intel Corp., and others announce plans to use Linux as a more economical alternative to Windows. Besides being free, the source code of the operating system is also viewed and modified by anyone, unlike other proprietary operating systems. This means that other language versions can be developed and deployed in small markets for traditional companies. Also, many organizations and governments want to use a highly secure operating system that contains code that cannot be replaced. Thanks to all of these reasons, Linux is extremely popular in China and Eastern countries.

In 1997, Torvalds came to work at Transmeta Corp. located in California specializing in manufacturing microprocessors. Six years later, he quit his job at that company and became the coordinator of a project under the umbrella of OSDL (Open Source Development Labs), a company created by tech corporations such as IBM and Intel. and Siemens to promote the development of Linux. In 2007, OSDL merged with the Free Standards Group to create a Linux Foundation. In 2012, he received the Millennium Technology award from Technology Academy Finland.