Explain Like I'm Five

So buckle up, it’s story time.

Your computer needs to run software like any other computer does for it to do what you want it to do. There are lots of different parts that do the same thing in different ways and so there are lots of ways to make a computer.

Once upon a time people would write software for specific machines. Anytime a new machine was released, they had to change the software to work on the newer machine. This got real old real fast.

Operating systems come between your software and your hardware. Rather than release a version of your software for each individual type of computer, you just have to release software that works on a specific operating system. So if I sell a program that draws red squares, I would have to release tons of different versions for different machines. That’s expensive and a pain in the ass to maintain. So instead I release my red square program for windows. Now, I describe to windows how to draw that red square with my program and windows handles the task of telling all those different types of computers to do what my program wants it to do.

Microsoft makes windows. Apple makes macOS. But there are others that exist with a different business model. Linux is free and exists under a different philosophy, that a community can share knowledge to replace the locked down and expensive offerings from Microsoft and Apple. To fund this, they may charge for support of the product instead of or in addition to the operating system itself.

When people talk about Linux they are typically referring to a Linux distro that can make up an entire operating system, oftentimes a full replacement of windows or macOS. But technically Linux is just a part of what makes the entire operating system. It’s arguably the most important part, the kernel. Think of the kernel as the core of the operating system. Everything else an operating system does is built on top of the kernel. Linus Torvalds maintains the Linux kernel and he just gives it away.

Linux doesn’t really do a hell if a lot by itself, but a kernel is an incredibly complicated thing to create. So others contribute not just to improving the kernel but making other things that use it to do other things. Because Linus already has a kernel he released for others do what they want with it, it makes things a LOT easier to develop since a huge part of the work has already been done.

All operating systems have kernels and they are the probably the biggest pain the ass part to make. Linus created a simple one years ago and shared it with everyone, who contributed their ideas over the years to enable it to do all sorts of things it couldn’t before.

Now here’s the interesting part: all those people who contributed to developing this thing have day jobs and their employers really don’t want to pay them to reinvent the wheel. So all the big, heavy, expensive, vital stuff that happens behind the scenes that makes our world work needs experienced people to make it work and it doesn’t want to make something only a few people can make work. It would be a catastrophe if the only guy who knew how your shit worked retires, dies, or, dare I say it, asks for a raise. -wilhelm scream-

So if a big company uses Linux, they have an enormous community of talented people they can hire at any time, they aren’t locked into a way of doing things that can request a ransom to continue working (ahem, adobe), and their start up costs are lower.

So who uses Linux? Almost everybody. If it’s online, there’s Linux backing it. Meta (Facebook), Google, Amazon, Apple, even fucking Microsoft uses Linux, and most of the companies using it also contribute back into Linux development because it’s much cheaper than doing it all by themselves.

Now how does this affect you? Linux isn’t just for highly skilled tech professionals running major operations. It’s for that little computer in your desk that just looks at Facebook and internet porn too! Many people are looking for alternatives since their perfectly working windows 10 computer won’t be supported past October anymore and not all of them can upgrade to windows 11. But you can install Linux for free and you’ll be fine.

It’s kinda similar to Unix.

I was too afraid to ask, thanks..

Every desktop computer has an operating system. Most of them run Windows. Some run MacOS, this is why the software on Macs and other PCs is different.

Linux is another operating system, its free and anyone can see the code its written in.

Linux is popular with nerds and programmers since its easier to do some advanced stuff in. Its popular as an alternative to windows since Windows is progressively getting more annoying to use (updates, popups etc).

Linux is used by servers (computers that run websites, like lemmy), and other stuff like smart appliances.
The android Operating System (used by android phones, like Samsung phones) is based on linux.

Just adding to this, Linux is pretty ubiquitous these days, with it being found running billboards, menus, information screens, and many machines and appliances.

Though these versions are stripped down and no what you are used to from a desktop. They just have the kernel and a few services for the task at hand.

Linux is one option for the core, central part of how a computer works, called a 'kernel'. All programs talk to Linux, which talks to the physical computer.

Windows has its own version of that kernel, Mac has another.

Linux is special because it's free for people to use, change, and check what it's doing.

There's a lot of programs built to work with Linux: together they are what you use to use your computer. Like, Windows is actually lots of smaller programs working together, and Mac OS is lots of smaller programs working together. Most people say 'Linux' meaning all these programs running together, with Linux at the core.

In other words, Linux is a system that runs on your computer, so you can run the programs you want (like Emacs, or Inkscape) on top of that.

So you know how your phone runs android or iOS? Think of windows as one, and Linux as the other if they could both run on the same hardware.

Your computer is a bunch of parts that need software to make them work. The "operating system" handles talking to the hardware directly, while the programs you run only talk to the operating system. Talking to the operating system is easy, talking to the hardware is difficult, since you may need to speak a hundred different languages to work with every possible network card, sound card, graphics card, etc.

The operating systems you have probably heard of are windows and macOS. Linux is a 3rd one.

Windows is owned by Microsoft, macOS is owned by Apple, and Linux is developed by the community and (typically) released for free. Since anyone can work on Linux, there are tons of different versions of it floating around, that are all slightly different from one another.

Since there's already a bunch of people explaining it I'll explain why it's so loved by the users and the hype around it.

Linux has a copy left license meaning no one person or entity owns Linux. It's open-source which allows any company to modify how it works or just a random person can change the code or fix it. The only restriction on this license is that anyone that makes changes have to share those changes if asked, this why everyone benefits. Anyone can submit those changes willingly to be approved and help contribute. This means that Linux is built and maintained by thousands of companies and 10s of thousands of people all across the world, not for a profit or bottom line (well for the companies like Google it's probably for profit). But to make something that works the best they can make it out of their passion.

I personally love Linux because I'm sick and tired of fighting my computer and phone to do what I want when all it does is force ads and pop ups down my throat and track my every move. Linux doesn't have any of that because the people that make it use it and don't want that, no one does. Since there's no profit motive we don't have shit like that.

Linux? Its kinda like...

Gonna find my baby, gonna hold her tight

Gonna grab some afternoon delight

My motto's always been "When it's right, it's right"

Why wait until the middle of a cold dark night

When everything's a little clearer in the light of day

And we know the night is always gonna be here any way

Thinkin' of you's workin' up my appetite

Looking forward to a little afternoon delight

Rubbin' sticks and stones together make the sparks ignite

And the thought of rubbin' you is getting so exciting

Sky rockets in flight

Afternoon delight

Afternoon delight

Afternoon delight

There have been some great answers already but there are some things I'd like to add: all commercial operating systems (especially Windows and Chrome OS, but MacOS is not at all innocent in that regard) are becoming increasingly focused on data harvesting, advertising and controlling what the user can do with their computer. Linux doesn't do any of that. Your computer is yours and nobody tries to control what you do with it. And if you use a beginner friendly distribution, it's not really more difficult to use.

In common usage, at least, it's an ecosystem of open source system software that sprang up around the Linux kernel. What exactly a kernel is might not matter to you.

The practical upshot is that you can run a computer without any code on it on it that isn't publicly accessible (from Apple, Google or Microsoft). There are other ways than Linux if you're committed, but none nearly as well developed.

This is good, because Linux is free of cost, free of restrictions on what you do with it, and experience has shown that open source code is much more maintainable and less likely to contain bugs and security vulnerabilities. (Basically, if any problems come up someone out there is likely to fix them, while closed-source software is rarely touched by anyone other than the original team)

Just for fun, and because someone has to post the meme:

You know how a lot of computers use windows? And a lot are macs? And there's a difference between the way you have menus and apps and stuff? Linux is a third way to use your computer. But there's a lot of versions of it. It doesn't matter what kind of computer you put it on either. New, old, windows, Mac, mini computers, old laptops. Linux is simply another way to use your computer. It's really cool if you're into that kind of thing.

Like you're 5... Ok.

Do you play videogames?

On the computer or on the TV?

Like Xbox? PlayStation?

Cool! Xbox and PlayStation are both "gaming consoles" and they are kinda not too different from a computer, but they're computers just for videogames. Even like a phone, or a Nintendo switch is a computer.

All computers have operating systems. Think of this as what's on the screen when the computer isn't doing much other than being on. Like the desktop, the home screen. That's kinda your operating system. It's the command center where you can use your computers tools!

Here's the deal. Linux? It's an operating system.

PlayStation uses their own modified version of Linux.

Xbox doesn't. They use a modified version of Windows (kinda).

Apple phones use a modified version of Apple computers operating system.

Android phones use a modified version of Linux.

the Operating system in your computer can be Linux, too! 🤓

Simplified explanation (shut up, Richard Stallman) : It's an operating system. In the same way a PC (or any other computer) has Windows (or OsX/MacOS, android, et.al.) as the connecting layer between the hardware and individual programs.

Linux can serve this role as well, and as it's free and open source, it's particularly popular among the tech and privacy enthusiasts here on Lemmy. Some use it for everything, some use it alongside windows (dualbooting), and some use it in a professional setting.

Linux is especially common on servers, but it's also gaining a lot of ground in the desktop space as well. Since Linux is free to distribute, many have over the years made lots of nux distributions specifically tailored towards particular use cases.

Source: Linux user of 25ish years.

Tip: The Linux mint installer can boot into a fully fledged Linux without touching anything on your hard-drive, so if you want to check it out without installing, you can.

Its the software you use to run other software on the computer. Microsoft's version is called "Windows" and Apple's is called "MacOS".

Lots of great explanations, but something I didn’t see, or missed:

• If it’s free, how do the companies making it stay in business? Not all Linux variants, or distributions/distros (there are a lot), are backed up by a company. The ones that are offer an enterprise version (like Microsoft sells Windows Server) for a price. Since “Linux” refers to the core of the OS, and its license dictates that it must be offered for free, you can get these enterprise versions for free. They charge for updates, levels of support, and some in-house developed solutions that work well with their distributed.
• If the source code is open and maintained by a community for free, how is that better that something made by professionals at a company? This is a huge topic, but to boil it down: First, the projects responsible for Linux distros and most of the utilities found within are run quite competently. It’s quite difficult for some random person to insert janky code. Second, most of the people contributing to these projects are often professional coders in their “day job,” or their “day job” includes contributing & maintaining this project. Third, when some random person finds a bug or exploit in these utilities and operating systems, the process for reporting and resolving it is pretty transparent compared to what you’ll find with for-profit software companies. Because the code isn’t proprietary, processes involved in auditing it tend to be open to the public.

I will be quick: just an operating system like Microsoft windows or Apple Mac OS.

It's like Windows if it was made by people who care about making a good operating system instead of by a big corporation who only cares about milking the crap of its users for money by collecting their data and forcing unwanted features down their throats.

Linux is based on open source code, which means the inner workings of the system are free knowledge and is freely accessible. Any development team is free to use it as a base and modify it or build upon it as they please. There are different teams making their own version of Linux with different features. They are called distributions, or "distros" with different features that appeal to different users. Even individual Linux users will generally have far more control over their operating system than Windows users.

Linux used to be not very user friendly and only approachable by more technical savvy people. Now however, there are distributions out there that are simple and approachable for almost anyone willing to learn a little.