Munir, Thank you for the correction. I meant Slacware *Distro* but I typed *kernel* instead. Operator error. I do apprecitate you pointing out my mistake. Being precise is important when we are all trying to learn from each other. Mark > Munir Nassar wrote: >> markring40 at ippimail.com wrote: >>> Then a sys admin for a local, South Dakota ISP gave me (years ago) his >>> Slackware 7.0 CD's. That is the distro that I learned the most from. >>> It >>> has good documentation and it's own package utility. >>> http://www.slackware.com/ >>> >>> By the way, the Slackware Kernel was written by a one-time student of >>> Moorhead State (Patrick Volkerding), where my son starts on Monday! >> >> I think it is time for another quick primer and history: >> >> kernel: this is the core of the operating system, the most basic program >> that runs the hardware. This is what drivers plug into to make your >> whizbang hardware able to whizbang. Under Debian, Gentoo, Slackware and >> all other Linux distributions this kernel is called Linux. under windows >> it is called NTKRNL.EXE, under dos it is msdos.sys(sorta). >> >> Distribution: In the olden days Linux was a complete distribution onto >> itself, Linus Torvalds released it to replace minix on your computer so >> it included gcc, getty, bash and a kernel(no name for the kernel at the >> time); nowadays Linux is just the kernel and other people such as Pat >> Volkerding put this kernel along with many other software packages onto >> media to make a distributibution. Distributions usually include the >> software that talks to the hardware via the drivers to make the whizbang >> hardware actually do its whizbanging. Many of the basic application in a >> distribution come from a project by Richard Stallman(rms) called GNU. >> His idea was to make a OS to replace Unix(or minix as the case may be) >> the only problem was that they never got around to actually writing a >> kernel, last i heard they are still working on it 20 years later. >> >> If you are not confused yet, rms wants you to call every linux >> distribution GNU/Linux because the majority of code in a distribution >> was writted for GNU. >> >> I know i an opening a can of worms here but these are things that people >> need to know about so that they do not go around saying stuff like: the >> Slackware Kernel was written by Patrick Volkerding. Because that just >> makes you look like an idiot. >> >> I have tried to be objective in my above descriptions, but i also need >> to be subjective to keep my sanity. Stop reading if you do not care >> about my opinions. Personally i think rms needs to smoke less, if he >> wanted recognition he should have written it into his license; oh wait >> he does get get plenty enough recognition as it is because of his >> license(who does not know the GNU GPL?). I think he is just miffed that >> some 20year old Finnish college student was able to release his GNU >> system before he was and got all his glory, the this student did not >> even make it to MIT, to add insult to injury this system now is not >> known as GNU as it was supposed to, but linux after this upstart kid. >> >> _______________________________________________ >> TCLUG Mailing List - Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota >> tclug-list at mn-linux.org >> http://mailman.mn-linux.org/mailman/listinfo/tclug-list > > > _______________________________________________ > TCLUG Mailing List - Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota > tclug-list at mn-linux.org > http://mailman.mn-linux.org/mailman/listinfo/tclug-list > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Get a free email address at http://www.ippimail.com and support your favorite charity without it costing you a penny. Email for the good guys!