In the late 1990s, the tech world was dominated by Microsoft Windows. But a new contender was emerging: Linux. This wasn’t just another operating system; it was a symbol of a broader movement towards open-source software. The story of Linux is intertwined with the free software movement, spearheaded by Richard Stallman, and the open-source movement, which gained momentum in the late ’90s.
Richard Stallman started the free software movement in the 1980s with the GNU project. His goal was to create a free Unix-like operating system. Stallman believed that software should be free—not in terms of price, but in terms of freedom. Users should have the freedom to run, modify, and share software. This philosophy was encapsulated in the GNU General Public License (GPL), which ensured that software would remain free for all its users.
While Stallman laid the philosophical and legal groundwork, Linus Torvalds provided the missing piece: the Linux kernel. Torvalds started developing Linux as a personal project in 1991. He wanted to create a free operating system that mimicked the Unix systems he used at university. By combining the Linux kernel with GNU tools, a complete free operating system was born: GNU/Linux.
The open-source movement took these ideas and made them more palatable to businesses. Eric Raymond’s essay “The Cathedral and the Bazaar” argued that open-source development—where code is freely available and developed collaboratively—could produce high-quality software. This idea caught the attention of Netscape, which decided to release the source code for its browser in 1998, marking a significant milestone for open source.
Linux’s rise was also fueled by its practical advantages. It was reliable, flexible, and cost-effective. The Apache web server, which ran on Linux, became the backbone of many websites, further driving adoption. Companies like Red Hat emerged to provide commercial support for Linux, making it more accessible to businesses.
Today, Linux is everywhere—from servers to smartphones. Its success is a testament to the power of open collaboration and the belief that software should be free.