Today, Sept. 17, 2011, is the 20th anniversary of the date when the first Linux kernel (version 0.01) was released and uploaded to an FTP server by Linus Torvalds in Helsinki. Although Torvalds had been working on the code since April, 1991 (recognized by some as the birthday of Linux), it wasn't until September of that year that he released the first Linux kernel to the world. That early iteration consisted of a mere 10,239 lines of code.
Fast-forward to the present day, where the Linux kernel 2.6.35 contains more than 13.5 million lines of code, and controls gadgets, devices and instruments you might never have expected. Take a look at our gallery below and be surprised by the ubiquity of this useful, versatile and compact operating system on its 20th birthday:
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