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+# Linux
+Linux is a Unix-like almost libre kernel created in 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Famously he announced it on [Usenet](usenet.md)
+where he just called it "a side project" and not something "professional". After being released, Linux grew quickly and became
+the defacto kernel of the GNU project, as [Hurd](hurd.md) wasn't ready yet and 386BSD couldn't be released earlier due to legal
+issues regarding its source code. Linux wasn't affected by this because it was an independent, clean room implementation of Unix
+(similar to Minix, the system Linus took inspiration from).
+
+Unlike the [BSDs](bsd.md), Linux is not a full operating systems on its own so it is coupled with userland tools, most commonly
+[GNU](gnu.md) or [Busybox](busybox.md) to form a fully functional operating system. This is also the origin of whether to call it GNU/Linux or just Linux
+(but it wouldn't apply to non-GNU distros like Alpine).
+
+Being Linux a monolithic kernel, this made it prone to bloat and indeed it got bloated, with device drivers having the most
+lines of code in the entire kernel source tree. Since these drivers run on ring 0, it adds a huge attack surface, including
+the fact that a failing driver can crash the whole system and almost 400 [syscalls](syscalls.md) for each architecture.
+
+By default and being strict, Linux is not fully free as it contains binary blobs (a form obfuscated proprietary software)
+for device drivers. Projects like [Linux-libre](https://www.fsfla.org/ikiwiki/selibre/linux-libre/) remove such blobs, making Linux fully free software.
+
+Another issue is the forced inclusion of [Rust](rust.md) into the kernel (but as of writing this, 2025, it appears to be failing) and subsequently
+the forced removal of seasoned kernel developers in basis of them being "old" and "refusing" to learn Rust. [SystemD](systemd.md) is another
+issue on its own, pushed by Red Hat and other tech corporations.
+
+A tarball with the source of the first version, 0.01 can be found here: <https://mirrors.edge.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/Historic/>.
+
+## See Also
+- [BSD](bsd.md)
+- [Unix](unix.md)
+- [Bloat](bloat.md)