this post was submitted on 13 Sep 2025
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Linux
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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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it's similar. in a mainstream distribution with a desktop environment, updates can typically be configured to notify you or install automatically. it's common for those updates to now also include third-party sources like flathub.
upgrades (to a next point release or major version) are different, some can be fairly straightforward--others, not so much. and those upgrades will be more frequent, as the "lifecycle" for most linux distributions is shorter than windows' 10 years.
There are also rolling release distros that never need upgrades. You install the system once and normal updates are all it needs.