Here are some aspects of Linux that have long histories.
Dual-Booting
Dual-booting Linux has long been the standard way to share Linux with different operating systems, including Windows.
The concept of multi-booting operating systems has been present for about as long as computers have been around.
Dual-booting also predates Linux on the Amiga.
You could pick the OS at boot time by using the left and right mouse buttons.
you might see it in action in this video:
2.
Like the original Unix, Linux is written in C. C by itself is a portable language.
This was unusual at the time since operating systems were tied to one specific machine.
It’s one reason Unix made such a splash in computer science academia in the ’70s and ’80s.
The Multics project pioneered the idea of interchangeable shells.
The concept was similar to today’s cloud computing.
Unfortunately, Multics was the Windows Vista of the day: ambitious but overcomplicated, delayed, and over-budget.
One of the first things they implemented in their Unix system was replaceable shells.
This kind of flexibility has endeared Unix-like systems to programmers and techies ever since.
But did you know a similar idea could have been implemented by Digital Equipment Corporation back in 1988?
This ambitious project was the brainchild of Dave Cutler.
DEC ultimately canceled MICA and Cutler moved to Microsoft, where he would lead what eventually became Windows NT.
On the VMS side, there was also a program called Eunice which also ran Unix programs.
SCO alleged that Linux infringed on their rights to the original Unix code, which they had acquired.
In the ’80s, the big debate was between AT&T’s System V and BSD.
The latter was more popular in the academic world, being developed at UC Berkeley.
It was also a major component of Unix on workstations, like those from Sun Microsystems.
The latter companies formed the Open Software Foundation, while Sun and AT&T formed Unix International.
The “war” ultimately ended in a cease-fire.
Both organizations merged, but Linux would ultimately supersede proprietary Unix in most applications.
Here, we see offerings from Sun Microsystems, HP, and even Apple.
Apple also had a Unix-based OS in the form of A/UX.
It’s possibly as old as the computers themselves.
The BSD developers created their own license that allowed for free distribution as well.
A lot of peculiarities of Linux can be explained by how they originated in Unix.
Why are they so short?
The reason is that they were originally designed to run on teleprinter machines rather than screens.
