Linux and BSD Searches / Google For Dummies

Linux and BSD Searches

Linux is the open-source operating system that has been making waves for the past few years. Linux is much older than that, but it’s only in recent years that developers have created ready-for-primetime versions of Linux and it has been loaded into computers selling in mainstream stores. Linux loyalists regard their operating system as a dynamic competitor of Microsoft Windows. Nobody owns Linux, though several companies own their respective operating system products based on Linux. Accordingly, Linux really refers to a family of operating systems, all built on the same foundation and with similar features.

BSD is also an open-source family of operating systems, based on Unix. BSD got its start at Berkeley, and the acronym stands for Berkeley Software Distribution. BSD has less prominence in the consumer marketplace than Linux does, but BSD servers (operating systems for Internet and intranet computers) are in fairly wide use.

Technical Stuff

The term open source refers to any software authoring project operating in the public domain. Anyone may grab the code of such a project and alter it. Normally, open-source projects are organized to some extent, by volunteer programmers who work on the program either as a hobby or as a potential profession. By definition, open-source software code is not owned. But in most cases an individual or company is free to make a commercial product from a proprietary version of the software.

If you have no interest in Linux, BSD, operating systems, or the open-source movement, the Linux and BSD specialty search areas might not be of much interest. If you want to take an interest, either search site is a good place to find out about the history and current state of Linux or BSD. As with the U.S. government search site, the BSD and Linux engines both forage in a restricted universe of relevant Web sources.

Tip

One fun experiment, even for those with merely a passing interest in these subjects, is to search for microsoft windows in the Linux engine. One recent search turned up, as the first result, a source site for obtaining Windows refunds. (No bashing intended — I run a Windows-only household. I’m just easily amused.)