It was the Intel 80836 that lead Torvalds to begin his industry changing work on what we now know to be Linux. Linux was conceived and created in 1991 By Torvalds, and by it's development being an "Open to the public" project, it gained thousands of programmers who brought code from other open projects. Thousands of programmers have contributed to the Linux OS, but only one person has contributed roughly 2%, and that person is Linus Trovalds.
Linux is not a program like a word processor and is not a set of programs like an office 2013. Linux is an interface between computer and server hardware, and the programs that we run on it.
Linux is used in personal computers, mobile devices, servers, mainframes, and supercomputers. With that general list it's safe to say Linux is used by everyone!
The advantages of using Linux are: Cost, Linux is free to obtain. Security, Linux is much more secure than windows. Choice, you have a say in how things look and feel when using Linux as your OS. Software, you have a larger selection to choose from. and finally hardware, Linux allows old hardware with hardly any memory to run with no problems.
the disadvantages of using Linux are: Understanding, Learning Linux is more difficult than learning Windows, so there is a big adjustment that needs to be made. Compatibility, Linux is not up to date with the latest hardware because of it's "free open source software". The lack of money by huge corporations is the major factor.
http://ubuntu-artists.deviantart.com/journal/8-Advantages-of-using-Linux-over-Windows-291681914
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_kernel
