this post was submitted on 16 Jul 2023
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Linux

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (2 children)

So I'm not the only one who fried a monitor trying to get X11 working...

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Really? I didn't know it was possible. How's that happened?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

X11 used to require very cumbersome MANUAL configuration, where you would specify the exact parameters of your keyboard, mouse, monitor, and other peripherals. If you accidentally ended up overclocking your monitor it would melt. For at least a decade, it has been able to run with no configuration file at all, but in the 90s/early 2000s you had to produce a unique >75 line xorg.conf file for your specific hardware.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

Thanks, that's terrifying and I'm glad that I never had to do it

[–] hardaysknight 2 points 1 year ago

God that brings back memories

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Oh no, for sure! I did it with Debian in '98-99.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

That certainly makes me feel better for letting the Magic Smoke out.