Imagine what the world would be like if other operating systems were developed in
the same manner as Linux. Suppose you wanted to purchase a copy of the latest version
of Windows. If Windows were licensed under the GPL, you would visit your local
computer store and find that there were many different Windows distributions available
from a variety of different software vendors, only one of which would be Microsoft.
Each distribution would be slightly different from the others, although they would
still be based on the same kernel. One may be optimized as a high-power Web server.
Another may be optimized for graphics, music, and video. You would be able to
browse through the different distributions and find the one that is best for you.
This scenario is unlikely as far as Windows is concerned. However, with Linux
that??™s exactly what is available to you. Many different software developers have
taken the basic Linux kernel and modified it to suit some particular purpose. They
may have also bundled many powerful applications with it. Some distributions
10 Chapter 1: Introducing Linux
may be customized to provide file and print services in a network. Others may be
customized to provide excellent productivity applications on end users??™ desktops.
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