Linux is an open-source clone of Unix. Unix is a close-source proprietary server-oriented operating system, responsible for running a majority of the Internet.
Windows is another proprietary operating system, which is designed in an entirely different fashion than Unix/Linux. It became popular in the 90's thanks to a lot of money spent on marketing Windows 95, flaunting multimedia capabilities and DirectX, so as to be the sexy (and disease ridden) operating system that is truly is.
An Operating System is a program designed to run "underneath" applications, manage system hardware resource access and assist applications with running along side each other. The operating system is also responsible for presenting these applications to the user on screen. |