DIVE INTO SOFTWARE /
	operating systems (os)
	An operating system is the set of basic programs and utilities that make your computer run. At the core of an operating system is the kernel. The kernel is the most fundamental program on the computer and does all the basic housekeeping and lets you start other programs. Microsoft (Windows, NT, XP), or Apple (MacOS) provide operating systems. Most free and open source operating systems are built around the Linux Kernel. This is reasons why they are often called Linux Operating systems, even though that's technically not entirely correct (GNU/Linux would be more accurate, since many of the programs come from the GNU initiative). The choice of OS for a computer is fundamental, since it determines which programs can be run on it. Most OSs come with a graphical user interface (GUI) the kind of thing that let's you use a mouse to point'n'click (instead of doing everything via the command line). There are two highly-advanced projects for a GUI for free OSs, KDE and GNOME. There are also several distributions that have a fully functional OS on a CD, so called boot CDs. They allow you to boot from the CD, instead of the hard drive, testing a free OS without having to install anything on your computer. One, Dyne:bolic, is included in this CD, to test it, just reboot your computer with this CD in the CD drive and it should boot into the free OS.