Linux is a class of Operating Systems (OSs) that grew out of AT&T's UNIX OS, which was one of the first systems in computing and is still powering many of the servers on the backbone of the internet. UNIX was not a free 
system, but the Linux adaptation has played a leading role in the Open-Source revolution, sponsored in large part by the Free Software Foundation. Open Source is often misunderstood, but it is very popular and useful. A spinoff from an attempt in 1983 to create a free version of UNIX, called GNU, with the recursive acronym, "GNU's Not Unix!", Linux is the subject of a controversy about its origins. The GNU group insists that it should be called, "GNU/Linux", but there is disagreement among the creators about that.
Linux comes in many colorful distributions (called "distros") (e.g., Debian; Ubuntu; & Fedora, by Red Hat), though not all of them are actually free. What charges there are cover the distribution costs involved.
Linux Mint adds spice with Cinnamon.
Linux Mint has rejected the GNOME environment and launched its own Cinnamon desktop. Linux fans should check it out.
Linux had a lot of ups and downs in 2011, but it’s still going strong.
Jack Wallen has published 2011: A Year Full of Right and Wrong for Linux, where he pointed out high and low points for the open-source operating system. He gave Linux Mint 12 the highest marks and panned Ubuntu.
Here is a review of 
Linux Mint 12 by Chris Duckett. He shows you all the installation screens and samples of system screens after the installation is complete. Mint comes with two new themes in addition to the standard Gnome.
Could you use a few Linux applications?
This collection of 10 useful little apps for Linux might help you do stuff. From controlling a scanner and mind mapping to syncronizing files and burning CDs, these apps offer new solutions to old problems.
The Linux Forum has released a list of great free Linux pubs.
From Ubuntu to GNUbasic, this list is a good resource for Linux fans. From beginners’ guides to system admin for running your own server, you can find useful information to help you check out this inexpensive alternative. The site also offers general access to online magazines on a wide range of subjects, but access on some of them is restricted to US IP addresses.
You can find all sorts of Ubunto mailing lists to join here and you can download a copy here.
Ubuntu is one of the most common manifestations of Linux, especially in the USA. Here is a reference manual and a series of 4 adventures that one of our members took in exploring the world of Ubuntu.
