Chapter 5. Ubuntu 101
In This Chapter
Introducing basic Linux concepts and systems
Logging in to and out of Ubuntu
Starting and stopping Ubuntu
The rest of this book shows how to use and master Ubuntu. Before proceeding, however, I'd like to introduce several essential Linux concepts and systems that will serve as an underpinning for the topics to come.
This chapter helps you get started with Ubuntu and the Linux operating system in general. I introduce the technologies underpinning Linux and Ubuntu; this information is essential to understanding how Ubuntu and computers in general work. I also describe the basics of using and operating your Ubuntu computer. This information gives you a working knowledge of fundamental Linux tools that will help you use the rest of this book.
Understanding the Linuxisms
The word Linux has different meanings, depending on the context in which it's referred to:
Linux kernel: Linux is the operating system that controls everything you do on your Ubuntu computer; this is technically the Linux kernel. The Linux kernel controls who can use resources like memory, disk space, and time allocated on the central processing unit (CPU).
Linus Torvalds started writing the Linux kernel in 1991 because he wasn't satisfied with any of the operating systems he had access to. Early on, he released his work to the nascent Internet and immediately hit a nerve. The power of communication and the need for such an operating system resulted in many talented people helping to make ...
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