How Linux killed Unix: the UNIX Wars

Summary

El script del video explora la evolución del sistema operativo Unix hasta su reemplazo por Linux. Unix, desarrollado en la década de 1960, se caracterizó por su portabilidad y se popularizó en investigaciones y empresas. Sin embargo, con el tiempo, se volvió propietario y costoso. Linux, creado por Linus Torvalds como un proyecto personal, se basó en principios similares a Unix pero era gratuito y abierto. La competencia en el mercado Unix y las demandas legales llevaron a su declive, mientras que Linux, con su código abierto y sin costes de licencia, se convirtió en la opción preferida, dominando en servidores, smartphones (a través de Android) y otros nichos. Además, el video presenta a Linode como una solución fácil para desplegar servidores y a Tuxedo como una opción para dispositivos compatibles con Linux.

Takeaways

• 🌏 Los sistemas operativos basados en Linux dominan en todo el mundo, especialmente en servidores y smartphones.
• 💻 Antes de Linux, Unix era el sistema operativo dominante en investigación, academia y espacio empresarial.
• 🔧 Unix fue desarrollado en la década de 1960 por MIT, Bell Labs y General Electric, y originalmente se llamaba Unics.
• 📦 La portabilidad de Unix, debido a su codificación en C, fue un factor clave para su expansión.
• 📈 La aparición de versiones de Unix comerciales y la falta de estandarización llevaron a lo que se conoce como las 'Guerras de Unix'.
• 🛠️ Linus Torvalds creó Linux como un proyecto personal y lo hizo código abierto, lo que atrajo a una comunidad de desarrolladores.
• 🔗 Linux comparte la arquitectura y filosofía de Unix, pero no su código, y es compatible con POSIX.
• 🚀 La decisión de AT&T y otros no comercializar Unix como un producto y la posterior competencia en el mercado dieron paso a la aparición de Linux.
• 📉 Los problemas legales y la fragmentación de Unix, junto con el auge de los PCs y Windows, contribuyeron a su declive.
• 🛑 El proyecto BSD, que también era compatible con Unix, se vio afectado por litigios legales que ralentizaron su desarrollo y adopción.
• 🔄 A pesar de su declive en el mercado comercial, Unix sigue vivo en sistemas como BSD, macOS y iOS, y en la inspiración de Linux.

Q & A

¿Por qué el sistema operativo Linux es tan dominante en el mercado actualmente?

Linux es dominante porque ha reemplazado a una gran cantidad de sistemas Unix comerciales y ofrece una solución de código abierto que es altamente personalizable y no tiene costos de licencia, lo que lo ha hecho ideal para servidores, smartphones (a través de Android) y otros dispositivos.

¿Cuál es la relación entre Unix y Linux?

Linux fue creado como un clon de Minix, que a su vez era un clon de Unix. Aunque Linux no comparte código con Unix, su arquitectura y filosofía son muy similares, y ambos son compatibles con POSIX, lo que hace que Linux sea considerado el sucesor espiritual de Unix.

¿Qué significaba el cambio de 'Unix' a 'UNIX' en el nombre original del sistema operativo?

Inicialmente se llamó Unix con un 'cs' al final, en honor a su predecesor Multix. Más tarde, se cambió a UNIX, que es un acrónimo de 'Uniplexed Information and Computing Service', y se convirtió en el sistema operativo que dominó en investigaciones académicas y en el espacio empresarial.

¿Cómo era la portabilidad de Unix y por qué era importante?

La portabilidad de Unix era alta, ya que estaba escrito en C, lo que permitía que se pudiera adaptar fácilmente a diferentes arquitecturas de procesadores. Esto era importante porque existían hasta 16 arquitecturas diferentes soportadas por Unix, lo que facilitaba su adopción en una amplia gama de sistemas.

¿Qué sucedió con Unix cuando se volvió un producto comercial?

Cuando Unix se comercializó, se generó un mercado competitivo con muchas compañías vendiendo sus propias versiones de Unix. Esto llevó a la fragmentación del mercado y a los denominados 'Unix Wars', donde las versiones de Unix comenzaron a diverger y a tener comportamientos diferentes, lo que dificultó su adopción continua.

¿Por qué las universidades dejaron de considerar a Unix como una opción viable?

Las universidades dejaron de considerar a Unix como una opción viable debido a la fragmentación del mercado, la alta costos de las soluciones Unix y la aparición de alternativas más económicas y accesibles, como BSD y posteriormente Linux.

¿Qué impacto tuvieron las batallas legales en el desarrollo y adopción de BSD?

Las batallas legales entre AT&T y Berkeley Software Design, por derechos de copyright y marcas comerciales, ralentizaron significativamente el desarrollo y la adopción de BSD, dejando el camino abierto para el crecimiento de Linux.

¿Cómo describe el script el impacto de la arquitectura x86 en la popularidad de Linux?

El script indica que la arquitectura x86, inicialmente con un rendimiento limitado, mejoró y se volvió más accesible, lo que permitió a Linux ser implementado en una amplia gama de dispositivos sin necesidad de chips costosos como los de RISC, y esto contribuyó a su popularidad.

¿Qué ventaja tuvo Linux frente a los paquetes Unix comerciales que incluían hardware y software?

Linux tenía la ventaja de ser un sistema operativo de código abierto sin costos de licencia, lo que lo hacía más económico en comparación con los paquetes Unix comerciales que incluían costos adicionales por hardware y software.

¿Cómo el script sugiere que Linux ha heredado la filosofía y el legado de Unix?

El script sugiere que Linux ha heredado la filosofía de Unix al seguir sus principios de programación modular y ser POSIX compatible, lo que lo convierte en un sucesor espiritual de Unix y lo mantiene como una inspiración en el desarrollo de sistemas operativos modernos.

¿Qué mensaje final el script tiene para los espectadores que están interesados en sistemas que soportan Linux?

El script hace un llamado a la acción para aquellos interesados en sistemas que soportan Linux, promoviendo la compra de dispositivos de Tuxedo, que son compatibles con Linux y ofrecen una amplia gama de opciones de personalización y compatibilidad.

Outlines

00:00

😀 Dominio de Linux y la era previa de Unix

Este párrafo presenta a Nick, quien habla sobre la popularidad de los sistemas operativos basados en Linux en todo el mundo, mencionando su presencia en servidores, mercado de smartphones con Android y su influencia en el ámbito académico y empresarial previo a Unix. Unix, desarrollado en la década de 1960, fue una plataforma crucial en la investigación y en el sector empresarial. Nick también menciona a Linode, un patrocinador del video, destacando su facilidad de uso para alojar diversos servidores con solo unos pocos clics.

05:02

📚 El ascenso de Unix y su influencia en Linux

En este párrafo, se explora el origen de Unix y su evolución a través de las décadas. Unix, creado por AT&T, se popularizó en universidades y empresas, y su código fue publicado como código abierto, lo que dio lugar a múltiples variantes y a la aparición de BSD. Sin embargo, a medida que Unix se volvió comercial, se produjo una fragmentación que llevó a la guerra de Unix, con cada compañía vendiendo su propia versión, lo que resultó en una confusión en el mercado y un terreno fértil para el surgimiento de Linux.

10:03

🚀 La transición de Unix a Linux y sus implicaciones

Este segmento narra cómo Linux, desarrollado por Linus Torvalds como un proyecto personal, se convirtió en una alternativa popular a Unix debido a su código abierto y su capacidad de ser personalizado. A pesar de que BSD existía antes y tenía similitudes con Unix, enfrentó problemas legales que ralentizaron su adopción. La decisión de Torvalds de abrir el código fue fundamental para que Linux se estableciera como la base de la mayoría de los sistemas operativos más utilizados en el mundo.

15:06

🛠️ La herencia de Unix y su legado en el software moderno

El último párrafo reflexiona sobre la herencia de Unix y cómo, a pesar de que no es tan predominante en el mercado comercial, su influencia se manifiesta en sistemas operativos modernos como BSD, macOS y iOS, así como en Linux. Unix no ha muerto, sino que ha evolucionado y se ha adaptado, siguiendo sus principios y sirviendo como inspiración para el desarrollo de herramientas y estándares que se utilizan hasta el día de hoy. El video termina promocionando Tuxedo, una empresa que ofrece computadoras compatibles con Linux y personalizables a voluntad.

📢 Cierre del video y llamado a la acción

El script termina con un breve agradecimiento y un recordatorio para los espectadores de que si disfrutaron del contenido, pueden apoyar el canal de varias maneras, incluyendo 'me gusta', suscribirse, activar las notificaciones y comentar. También se invita a los espectadores a considerar las opciones de apoyo financiero como PayPal, Patreon y membresías de YouTube.

Keywords

💡Linux

Linux es un sistema operativo de código abierto que se utiliza ampliamente en todo el mundo, especialmente en servidores y dispositivos móviles. En el video, se destaca cómo Linux domina el mercado del servidor con alrededor del 96% de los primeros 1 millón de servidores corriendo Linux, y el mercado de los smartphones con aproximadamente el 85% de ellos usando sistemas operativos basados en Linux, como Android.

💡Unix

Unix es un sistema operativo desarrollado en la década de 1960 por MIT, Bell Labs y General Electric. Es mencionado en el video como un sistema que dominó en la investigación académica y en el espacio empresarial, así como en servidores. Unix fue fundamental en el desarrollo de sistemas operativos modernos, incluyendo a Linux, que hereda su filosofía y estructura.

💡Sistemas Operativos Basados en Linux

Este término se refiere a sistemas operativos que están basados en el núcleo de Linux o que comparten su arquitectura. En el script, se menciona que estos sistemas operativos dominan en varios mercados, incluyendo servidores y smartphones, y que Android es un ejemplo prominente de un sistema operativo basado en Linux.

💡Linode

Linode es un proveedor de servicios de alojamiento en la nube mencionado en el video como una solución fácil de usar para ejecutar servidores, incluyendo Nexcloud y otros. El script destaca cómo Linode permite la implementación de aplicaciones con un solo clic y cómo es una opción recomendada por el narrador para aquellos que buscan alojar sus servidores.

💡BSD

BSD, o Berkeley Software Distribution, es una familia de sistemas operativos Unix-like que no utiliza el código original de Unix, pero sigue su filosofía. En el video, se discute cómo BSD es una rama de Unix y cómo, debido a disputas legales, permitió que Linux se desarrollara y se adoptara en lugar de las versiones comerciales de Unix.

💡POSIX

POSIX es un estándar que define un modelo de sistema operativo para asegurar la compatibilidad y la interoperabilidad entre diferentes sistemas Unix y Unix-like. En el video, se menciona que Linux es POSIX-compliant, lo que significa que sigue estas pautas para garantizar una experiencia coherente para el usuario.

💡Linus Torvalds

Linus Torvalds es el creador de Linux, mencionado en el video como un estudiante en Helsinki que desarrolló el núcleo de Linux como un proyecto personal y lo compartió con el mundo. Su trabajo se convirtió en la base del sistema operativo más utilizado en la actualidad.

💡Sistemas Operativos Propietarios

Los sistemas operativos propietarios son aquellos cuyo código fuente no es accesible al público y están sujetos a restricciones de derechos de autor. En el video, se discute cómo la mayoría de los sistemas Unix se volvieron propietarios y cómo esto llevó a una fragmentación del mercado y a la venta de estos sistemas junto con el hardware, lo que resultó en una desventaja competitiva.

💡Unix Wars

Las 'Unix Wars' se refieren a una serie de disputas legales y de mercado entre los fabricantes de sistemas Unix en la década de 1980. En el video, se explica cómo estas guerras contribuyeron a la confusión en el mercado y a la eventual predominancia de Linux.

💡Tuxedo

Tuxedo es una marca mencionada en el video que ofrece dispositivos informáticos que son compatibles con Linux y se enfocan en la personalización y la capacidad de actualización. El script sugiere que Tuxedo es una opción para aquellos que buscan dispositivos que soporten Linux de fábrica.

Highlights

Linux is the most widely used operating system in the world, dominating the server market with about 96% of the first 1 million servers running Linux.

Linux also dominates the smartphone market with approximately 85% of smartphones running on Linux-based operating systems, such as Android.

Before Linux, Unix was a popular operating system that dominated in research, academia, and the server space.

Unix was developed in the mid-1960s by MIT, Bell Labs, and General Electric, initially called Unix with a 'C' at the end.

Unix was a single-task system that eventually gained features like multitasking, multi-user capabilities, and networking.

The portability of Unix, being written in C, allowed it to be used across various processor architectures, contributing to its widespread adoption.

Unix's open-source code led to the creation of various Unix-based systems, including BSD.

BSD is a Unix variant that does not use any of the original Unix code, maintaining Unix's principles but avoiding legal issues.

Commercial Unix offerings became proprietary, leading to a fragmented market and the 'Unix Wars'.

Linus Torvalds developed Linux as a hobby project, creating a Unix-like kernel that was open-source and free to use.

Linux's open-source nature allowed it to rapidly evolve and be tailored to various needs without legal restrictions.

The POSIX standard was created to ensure compatibility among the various Unix variants, and Linux is POSIX compliant.

Commercial Unix's high cost and the rise of personal computers with Intel x86 architecture contributed to its decline.

BSD faced legal challenges that halted its distribution for two years, allowing Linux to gain prominence.

Linux's dominance in various niches that Unix once occupied is attributed to its open-source nature and community support.

Unix's legacy lives on in BSD distributions, macOS, and iOS, as well as in Linux, which follows Unix principles.

Unix's influence is seen in the creation of many command-line tools and standards that are still in use today.

The video is sponsored by Linode, offering an easy solution to deploy various applications with a one-click marketplace.

Tuxedo Computers, based in Germany, offers a range of devices that support Linux out of the box, with customization options.

Transcripts

hey everyone this is Nick and Linux

based operating systems are the most

used in the entire world Linux dominates

the server Market with about 96 of the

first 1 million servers running Linux it

dominates the smartphone market with

about 85 percent of smartphones running

on Linux based operating system namely

Android and it dominates the desktop

well maybe not that one not yet anyway

but before Linux there was Unix it's a

unit system a very very popular

operating system that dominated in

research Academy and multiple companies

and the server space as well so how did

we go from a big range of commercial

Unix offerings that dominated the world

to Linux erasing basically everything

and how did we go from this introduction

to this Segway to today's sponsor this

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hundred dollars of free credits to get

started so what was or is UNIX well a

eunuch is a man who's got certain body

parts room oh wait no sorry we're

talking about Unix not you nux so Unix

was developed in the mid-1960s by the

MIT Bell labs and general electronic at

the time it was called Unix with a CS at

the end not an X it was the follow-up to

multix which was another operating

system very complex to use very heavy

Unix stands for uniplexed information

and Computing service and it was a

single task system written in assembly

before it moved to c over time it gained

a bunch of features like multitasking

multi-user capabilities and networking

and it really took off because it became

very portable being written in C meant

that Unix was way more portable than

most other operating systems that were

available at the time and at the time it

was a very important thing because you

didn't just have x86 and arm you had up

to 16 different processor architectures

at some point supported by Unix and with

that portability Unix conquered the

world

s from the owner none other than atnt

and I talk about Unix in the past but it

still exists today mainly in Solaris

previously owned by Sun but now by

Oracle and there are other less ran

options all these systems were born out

of the open source code that was

published before Unix became fully

commercial and that open source code

also sprouted another Branch a little

thing you might know as BSD yeah BSD is

UNIX although they do not use any of the

original Unix code nowadays apart from

BSD most other Unix systems are now

proprietary and generally limited to

Industry Finance or health related

companies they are also generally sold

with the hardware they run on and it

still has its advantages like stability

and security seeing as there is very

little malware developed for Unix so how

did we go from Unix everywhere to Linux

ate my launch you probably all know that

Linux was developed by Linus store volts

well he was a student in Helsinki he

enjoyed Unix but at that point the

system had become proprietary and so

couldn't be tailored to his needs as a

pet project he created his own kernel

that was basically a Minix clone itself

a Unix clone which tovaults wanted to

modify to run on 32-bit systems and the

rest is history he opened up the source

code finished the first version in 91

and then a full operating system was

built on top of that kernel thanks to

the new tools developed by the free

software Foundation of Richard stallman

and this little hobby project became the

foundation of the most used operating

system in the world dominating 99 of the

various niches that Unix used to occupy

interestingly while Linux doesn't share

any code with Unix the kernel absolutely

behaves like it the general architecture

and philosophy of the system is

incredibly similar on purpose it's built

with small programs that do one task

well and that can talk to each other

through the use of pipes to pass the

output of a program to another Linux is

also posix compliant posix being a

standard that was created because so

many Unix variants were popping up that

it was necessary to ensure they all

worked in a similar way and were

compatible with each other so you could

say that Linux is the spiritual

successor to Unix and you might wonder

how a hobby project developed as open

source managed to replace a commercial

company-backed already installed system

and the reasons are many at first Unix

couldn't be commercialized as a product

because atnt had entered an agreement

with other companies saying that they

wouldn't try and sell computer software

that meant Unix was a hobby project for

them it was sold for the cost of

shipping and printing the tapes yes

tapes not drives not disks not floppy

disks tapes you receive the source code

as is and patching options were limited

it which meant most people who bought

Unix bought it to maintain it and fix it

themselves which led to many companies

creating their own versions of Unix and

sharing the source code with one another

the agreement atnt had ended though and

this meant that they could now start

selling Unix as a product as could other

companies and at the time it was seen

more as a way to sell expensive Hardware

giant mainframes that came with Unix to

have something to run on them the money

wasn't the hardware not the software and

it still kinda is today look at Apple

they're enormous margins aren't made on

the software they're made on the

hardware they sell and the software is

just a gateway to attract you to buy the

product and also a way to collect all

your personal data Gap with the ability

to commercialize Unix came a huge

competitive market with each company

that had developed and maintained their

own Unix version realizing there was

money to be made by selling that and

stopping the flow of Open Source Code

between the various Unix variants every

Unix version started to diverge from

each other and to behave differently

which killed one of the big advantages

of Unix it was the standard you learned

at University and that you kept using

because you knew it and so the first

problem appeared with expensive hardware

and multiple potentially incompatible

variants of Unix to choose from

universities decided that Unix might not

be a viable option and so Berkeley based

themselves of the code of Unix to create

BSD and have their own version of Unix

that they could run they could open up

and share without hemorrhaging cash now

at some point companies realized that

this was a problem and decided to try

and standardize things to avoid risking

Unix becoming completely irrelevant

that's when posix was finally adopted as

the standard after a bunch of other

standards were proposed discussed denied

it was a mess all these systems and this

competition is referred to as the Unix

Wars all vendors wanted to be the

standard there were legal battles of

Plenty and it made the Unix landscape a

confusing mess for potential customers

who do you buy from is it safe from

litigation what are the differences and

what are the advantages if you think

choosing a Linux distro is confusing try

doing the same between multiple

commercial offerings that come on

multiple thousands of dollars mainframes

as a company the business decision is

impossible to make and it turned Unix

into a bad word it made it impossible to

Market which really hurt it in the long

run also at that point personal

computers were really starting to take

off in the late 80s and early 90s and

Microsoft just dominated that space with

Windows which meant customers were not

as familiar with Unix as they once were

Unix also was really only your way to

sell mainframes and big computers stuff

that ran on risk chips at the time

Intel's x86 was a very limited it

architecture it had poor performance

compared to risk CPUs and it was only

suitable to be produced on mass cheaply

for the end user but with these sales

Intel and then AMD were able to fund the

development of better chips which in

turn outgrew the risk chips that Unix

depended on to be sold and at that point

why would you rack your brain and try to

pick from a variant of Unix that might

be safe for litigation might be sold on

the exact computer that you need running

a risk chip when you could just buy any

big computer with an x86 CPU that has

now caught up in terms of performance

and just slap an open source operating

system without any license fees on it

the choice was easy and Commercial Unix

basically died but why did people use

Linux and not BSD BSD had existed for

longer it was a known quantity and it

worked in the same way as Unix as what

companies were used to the gist of it is

legal battles BSD was slowly moving away

from code used in the original system 5

which atnt held the rights to they had

redeveloped all the utilities and

finalized removing all atnt files in

1991. in the net 2 release of BSD atnt

then sued Berkeley software design

arguing they had breached unix's license

contract that their code infringed on

copyright and that it diluted the Unix

trademark and so BSD was ordered to

completely stop Distributing all their

software until the case was resolved

which would take about two years which

meant that the project was stopped in

their track for a long time but

apparently not enough time to create a

decent logo this also meant that

companies steered clear of BSD because

it its future was uncertain and you

probably did not want to take the legal

risks to use something that was under

legal threats this left the field wide

open for Linux to be developed and

adopted instead of the expensive

commercial Unix packages that had the OS

and the hardware bundled and Torvalds

even stated that if BSD had been

available at the time he would probably

never have developed Linux in the first

place and so that's why Linux dominates

in all the spaces Unix used to occupy

Unix became too big for its own good and

completely not understandable for

consumers it was also very expensive and

any other alternative was just under

legal threats and so completely unsafe

to use by companies and so companies and

universities flocked to that Unix

compatible kernel and operating system

instead of bothering with commercial

Unix

now this doesn't mean that Unix is dead

it lives on in all the BSD distributions

and in Mac OS and iOS both being based

on a BSD kernel it also found a

spiritual successor in Linux which

follows the Unix principles to the

letter and is posix compliant there are

still commercial versions of Unix being

sold the main one being Sons Solaris

available to everyone and also sold

within big mainframes and Unix left a

rich Heritage in two days operating

systems they invented the man command to

access manual pages although should we

really thank them for that I mean those

things are completely legible the posix

standard also only exists thanks to the

Unix Wars pipes you can use in the Linux

command line interface were invented for

Unix why which led to the creation of

Vim was also a Unix tool Unix isn't dead

it's just transcended to another plane

of existence it's more of a guiding

Foundation or inspiration than a

commercial social product nowadays and

when you think about it Linux almost

didn't exist if BSD was ensued if 88 and

T didn't have this weird agreement that

precluded them from selling Unix right

when they developed it or if the x86

architecture had never taken off and had

been a bus for companies we might all be

using a Unix variant instead of Linux

but as it happened Linux just ate Unix

and it was delicious like this Segway to

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thank you

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