In the field of animation and visual effects, most high end software, such as AutoDesk Maya, Softimage XSI and Apple Shake, is available for Linux, Windows and/or Mac OS X.
Furthermore, some applications were initially developed for Linux (such as Pidgin, and GIMP) and, due to their popularity, were ported to other operating systems (including Windows and Mac OS X).Ī growing number of proprietary desktop applications are also supported on Linux see List of proprietary software for Linux. For example Mozilla Firefox, and have downloadable versions for all major operating systems. Many popular applications are available for a wide variety of operating systems.
In other cases, where there is no Linux port of some software in areas such as desktop publishing and professional audio, there is equivalent software available on Linux. CrossOver is a proprietary solution based on the open source Wine project that supports running Windows versions of Microsoft Office, Intuit applications such as Quicken and QuickBooks, Adobe Photoshop versions through CS2, and many popular games such as World of Warcraft and Team Fortress 2. Furthermore, the Wine project provides a Windows compatibility layer to run unmodified Windows applications on Linux. Commonly, either a free software application will exist which does the functions of an application found on another operating system, or that application will have a version that works on Linux (such as Skype).
Many types of applications available for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X are also available for Linux. There are several companies that do port their own or other companies' games to Linux. Projects such as upstart aim for a faster boot time. Since then a significant effort has been expended improving the desktop experience. He quit Linux kernel development because he was frustrated with this lack of focus on the desktop, and then gave a "tell all" interview on the topic.
The performance of Linux on the desktop has been a controversial topic for example in 2007 Con Kolivas accused the Linux community of favouring performance on servers. The two most popular such environments are GNOME and KDE, both of which are mature and support a wide variety of languages. Currently most distributions include a graphical user environment. The popularity of Linux on standard desktops (and laptops) has been increasing over the years. Linux vendors and communities combine and distribute the kernel, GNU components, and non-GNU components, with additional package management software in the form of Linux distributions. These third-party components comprise a vast body of work and may include both kernel modules and user applications and libraries.
Finally, individuals and corporations develop third-party non-GNU components. Stallman heads the Free Software Foundation, which in turn supports the GNU components. Torvalds continues to direct the development of the kernel. The main supporting user space system tools and libraries from the GNU Project (announced in 1983 by Richard Stallman) are the basis for the Free Software Foundation's preferred name GNU/Linux. The name "Linux" comes from the Linux kernel, originally written in 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Commonly used applications with desktop Linux systems include the Mozilla Firefox web-browser, the office application suite and the GIMP image editor. Linux distributions include the Linux kernel and all of the supporting software required to run a complete system, such as utilities and libraries, the X Window System, the GNOME and KDE desktop environments, and the Apache HTTP Server. Typically Linux is packaged in a format known as a Linux distribution for desktop and server use.
The development of Linux is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software collaboration typically all the underlying source code can be used, freely modified, and redistributed, both commercially and non-commercially, by anyone under licenses such as the GNU General Public License. Desktop use of Linux has increased in recent years, partly owing to the popular Ubuntu, distributions and the emergence of netbooks and smart phones running an embedded Linux. Linux is the leading server OS, accounting for more than 50% of installations and runs the top 90% of the fastest supercomputers in the world. Linux can be installed on a wide variety of computer hardware, ranging from mobile phones, tablet computers and video game consoles, to mainframes and supercomputers. Linux refers to the family of Unix-like computer operating systems using the Linux kernel.