Linux

Pronounced "lihnuks", this is an operating system similar to Unix, created by Linus Torvalds. His reason for developing it was that he wasn't happy with any of the currently available options (oh, if we all could do that...). He freely distributed his OS, helping it to gain popularity. Today, Linux is currently used by hundreds of thousands of people (maybe more) around the world. Computer hobbyists (a.k.a. geeks) love it because it's very customizable and you can actually add your own code to OS itself. However, Linux has also become the choice for some corporations because it is an inexpensive substitute for Unix. The current supported hardware platforms are Intel, PowerPC, DEC Alpha, Sun Sparc, and Motorola.