Linux

From Linux 101

Depending on who you ask it's pronounced lee-nucks, Lie-nucks, or lynn-uks.

Linux is a free (As in speech) Kernel that runs on a number of hardware platforms, including Intel and Motorola microprocessors. It aims for Posix compliance, and so looks to the average person very much like a Unix(tm). It was developed by LinusTorvalds Linus Torvalds, though now he has many more developers assisting him. Because it's free, and because it runs on many platforms, including PCs, Macintoshes and Amigas, Linux has become extremely popular.

Distributions include Debian, Redhat, Mandrake, and Slackware.