Linux All-in-One For Dummies, 5th Edition
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Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2013958402
ISBN 978-1-118-84435-9 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-84431-1 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-84432-8 (ebk)
Manufactured in the United States of America
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Book VII
Scripting
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Contents at a Glance
Book VI
Security
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Contents at a Glance
Book V
Administration
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Contents at a Glance
Book IV
The Internet
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Contents at a Glance
Book III
Networking
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Contents at a Glance
Book II
Linux Desktops
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Contents at a Glance
Book I
Getting Started with Linux
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Contents at a Glance
Introduction
Linux is truly amazing when you consider how it originated and how it continues to evolve. From its modest beginning as the hobby of one person Linus Torvalds of Finland Linux has grown into a full-fledged operating system with features that rival those of any commercial Unix operating system. To top it off, Linux with all of its source code is available free to anyone. All you have to do is download it from an Internet site or get it on CDs or a DVD for a nominal fee from one of many Linux CD vendors.
Linux certainly is an exception to the rule that you get what you pay for. Even though Linux is free, its no slouch when it comes to performance, features, and reliability. The robustness of Linux has to do with the way it is developed and updated. Developers around the world collaborate to add features. Incremental versions are continually downloaded by users and tested in a variety of system configurations. Linux revisions go through much more rigorous beta testing than any commercial software does.
Since the release of Linux kernel 1.0 on March 14, 1994, the number of Linux users around the world has grown exponentially. Many Linux distributions combinations of the operating system with applications and installation tools have been developed to simplify installation and use. Some Linux distributions are commercially sold and supported, while many continue to be freely available.
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