An Overview of the Linux Desktop for Novices and Non-Users

So, what is Linux, exactly? One thing that is very important to keep in mind is that Linux was not developed by a single coherent group of developers. Thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of individuals have contributed to Linux over the three decades since 1991. They have all had a hand in developing and modifying Linux to make it more of what each wanted it to be, and as a result, Linux has become something of a virus mutating as it fills the earth. To paraphrase Charles Dickens in A Tale of Two Cities, Linux is the best of operating systems, Linux is the worst of operating systems, Linux is the spring of hope, Linux is the winter of despair.