Linux is an open operating system available under the GPL. This means the source code is freely available. Anyone distributing machine executable versions of this code, should also be able to provide the source code. Also any changes to the source code should be available under the same licensing conditions. Linux is mainly developed by volunteers all over the world, although the IT industry starts contributing as well.

Linux runs on widely differing hardware platforms ranging from small embedded systems over commodity personal computers to huge clusters for processor intensive jobs like scientific calculations or 3D rendering. CPU architectures supported include IA32 (Intel, AMD, Cyrix,...), IA64 (Intel), m68k (Motorola), PowerPC(IBM/Motorola), Sparc (Sun), Sparc64 (Sun), MIPS, ARM, Alpha (Compaq/Digital).

Technically the term 'Linux' denotes only the kernel of the operating system. Various companies and groups of volunteers have build Linux distributions around this kernel. A Linux distribution contains all necessary tools and programs to install and maintain the system, perform basic operations and develop software. In addition to this a number of applications are also included such as a web browser, MUA, news reader, bitmap editor, audio manipulation tools,... Almost all of these application programs carry a similar open license as the Linux kernel.

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