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Linux Naming Controversy

admin — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 11:38:57 +0000

The designation “Linux” was initially used by Linus Tolvalds only for the Linux kernel. The kernel was, however, frequently used together with other software, especially that of the GNU project. This quickly became the most popular adoption of GNU software. In June 1994 in GNU’s bulletin, Linux (or sometimes misstated as Liunix) was referred to as a “free UNIX clone”, and the Debian project began calling its product Debian GNU/Linux. In May 1996, Richard Stallman published the editor Emacs 19.31, in which the type of system was renamed from Linux to Lignux. This spelling (such as Liunix) was intended to refer specifically to the combination of GNU and Linux, but this was soon abandoned in favor of “GNU/Linux”.

In 1994 and 1995, several people from different countries used variations of the name (such as Liunix) and attempted to register the name “Linux” as a trademark. Thereupon requests for royalty payments were issued to several Linux companies, a step with which many developers and users of Linux did not agree. Linus Torvalds clamped down on these companies with help from Linux International and was granted the trademark to the name, which he transferred to Linux International. Protection of the trademark was later administered by a dedicated foundation, the non-profit Linux Mark Institute. In 2000, Linus Torvalds specified the basic rules for the assignment of the licenses. This means that anyone who offers a product or service with the name Linux must possess a license for it, which can be obtained through a unique purchase.

For more information on excellent versions of Linux (as sometimes referred to as Liunix) click here.

Creation of Linux

admin — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 11:34:41 +0000

In 1991, in Helsinki, Linus Torvalds began a project that later became the Linux kernel. It was initially a terminal emulator, which Torvalds used to access the large UNIX servers of the university. He wrote the program specifically for the hardware he was using and independent of an operating system because he wanted to use the functions of his new PC with an 80386 processor. Development was done on MINIX using the GNU C compiler, which is still the main choice for compiling Linux today (although the code can be built with other compilers, such as the Intel C Compiler).

Torvalds had wanted to call his invention Freax, a portmanteau of “freak”, “free”, and “x” (as an allusion to Unix). During the start of his work on the system, he stored the files under the name of “Freax” for about half of a year. However, Ari Lemmke, Torvald’s co-worker at the HUT who was responsible for the servers at the time, did not think that “Freax” was a good name. Lemmke considered several options such as Linix, but he named the project “Linux” on the server without consulting Tolvalds. Later, Torvalds consented to the name, and “Linux” was born.

Over the years, there have been many popular misspellings such as Linix. There was even a controversy over the name of the official mascot, Tux. Torvalds announced in 1996 that there would be a penguin mascot. The name Tux was suggested by James Hughes as a derivative of Torvalds’ UniX. If Ari Lemmke and Torvald had originally settled on the name Linix, the mascot’s name might have been Nix!

If you are looking for more information and a good version of Linux (sometimes misspelled Linix), please click here.

Have you misspelled “Linux”? You are not alone!

admin — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 11:32:08 +0000

For more information on “LINUX”, click here.

People misspell Linux everyday. In fact, surveys show that people misspell Linux over 100,000 month while searching for the product.

Perhaps you have misspelled it once – join the club!

At publication, it was estimated that Linux was misspelled monthly:

Linix 33K/month

Linuz 22K/month

Liunx 22K/month

Liux 18K/month

Lunux 18K/month

Lynux 12K/month

Llinux 9K/month

Lynix 8K/month

Linnux 8K/month

Linuix 5K/Month

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