Linux is a free and Open Source operating system that started as a small project by Linus Torvalds in 1991. Today it runs everything from embedded systems to nuclear submarines. Linux also powers Wall Street and the London Stock Exchange, the CERN supercollider, NASA's supercomputers, and the Ingenuity Mars helicopter.
The latest Linux kernel version is 6.5.5. Mainline, stable, and longterm releases are for end users. Release candidate or rc kernels are for developers.
Android, which holds 71.59% of the mobile operating system market share worldwide as of April 2022, uses the Linux kernel.
Linux runs 100% of the top 500 supercomputers in the world as of June 2022.
The idea of the Linux brand character being a penguin came from Linus Torvalds. Larry Ewing created it in 1996 after a suggestion from Alan Cox. James Hughes called it Tux.