Linux is a free Unix-type operating system originally created by Linus Torvalds with the assistance of developers around the world. The kernel, at the heart of all Linux systems, is developed and released under the GNU General Public License and its source code is freely available to everyone. It is this kernel that forms the base around which a Linux operating system is developed. Different flavours of Linux abound and these are called Distributions.

There are now literally hundreds of companies and organisations and an equal number of individuals that have released their own versions of operating systems based on the Linux kernel. Apart from the fact that it is freely distributed, Linux's functionality, adaptability and robustness has made it the main alternative to proprietary Unix and Microsoft operating systems. Blueloop are skilled and experienced in a number of these distributions, namely; Fedora, GenToo, Redhat, SUSE and Ubuntu but, because Linux distributions are all based on the same kernel, we can help with any Linux you may be using.

IBM, Hewlett-Packard and other giants of the computing world have embraced Linux and support its ongoing development. The operating system can also be incorporated directly into microchips in a process called "embedding" and is increasingly being used this way in appliances and devices.

Blueloop provide a number of solutions based upon the Linux operating system and these are described in detail within these product pages.