What is Linux?

        LINUX is a Unix-like operating system that was designed to provide personal computer users a free or very low-cost operating system comparable to traditional and usually more expensive Unix systems. Linux has a reputation as a very efficient and fast-performing system.

        LINUX's kernel (the central part of the operating system) was developed by Linus Torvalds (1991) at the University of Helsinki in Finland. To complete the operating system, Torvalds and other team members made use of system components developed by members of the Free Software Foundation for the GNU Project.

        Typically all the underlying source code can be used, freely modified, and redistributed, both commercially and non-commercially, by anyone under licenses such as the GNU General Public License.

    Why Linux?

     → Free

     → Forget about viruses

     → Stable OS

     → Flexibility

     → Multitasking

     → Command line

     → Full access

     → Remote tasking ("real networking")

     → Multiuser

     → Access to shell, programming languages, databases, open-source projects

     → Better performance

     → More up-to-date

     → Open-source, publicly open and extendible by contributors

    LINUX distributions: Ubuntu, Fedora, Mandriva, SuSE, etc.

Sources: wikipedia.org, searchenterpriselinux.techtarget.com