Linux was originally developed as a free operating system for personal computers based on the Intel x86 architecture, but has since been ported to more computer hardware platforms than any other operating system.

Thanks to its dominance on smart phones,Android, which is built on top of the Linux kernel, has the largest installed base of all general-purpose operating systems. Linux, in its original form, is also the leading operating system on servers and otherlarge systems such as mainframe computers and virtually all of the fastest super computers,but is used on only around 1.6% of the worlds desktop computers, with the Linux-based Chrome OS taking about 5% of the overall and nearly 20% of the sub-$300 notebook sales. Linux also runs on embedded systems, which are devices whose operating system is typically built into the firmware and is highly tailored to the system; this includes smartphones and tablet computers running Android and other Linux derivatives,TiVo and similar DVR devices, network routers, facility automation controls, televisions, video game consoles, and smartwatches.

Over the years, several distributions of various operating systems offering various 'flavors' have been developed, based on the Linux OS. I comment on the flavors in another area on this site and also describe the reasons for using Linux in yet another section on this site. Be sure to check them all out!

After you have made yourself familiar with the possibilities to which you can avail yourself, you may decide you would like to try Linux and learn more about it, which is the purpose of this site.