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"The Linux operating system is not just for nerds. Even though you may not realize it, chances are you probably have a version of Linux running right under your nose. It's found its way into a multitude of devices, both large and small.\nToday, 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.\nFast-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: \n\n\n10 Devices Running Linux\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n1. TiVo\nUnderneath the digital video recorder TiVo's user-friendly and popular interface is a modified version of Linux. We have a hunch that those Linux underpinnings are responsible for TiVo's snappy response and smooth video playback.  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n2. Android\nThe Android operating system is showing up in multitudes of handheld devices. It was created by the Open Handset Alliance, headed up by Google. Lots of smartphone providers place their own brand of user interface enhancements on top of Android, and there's a lot of tricky programming called middleware in between, but underneath? Good old Linux.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n3. AT&amp;T MiFi\nThis pocket-sized device gives users a mobile access point that makes it so multiple people can use a single 3G connection. That gives any Wi-Fi device the ability to go online practically anywhere. What's in it for you? Imagine never having to pay a $12.95 Wi-Fi charge in a hotel again, thanks to Linux.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n4. Large Hadron Collider\nWhen it's time to answer big questions, physicists are turning to Linux to run the Large Hadron Collider, the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator. Just what questions are they trying to answer with this $9 billion scientific instrument? They're trying to understand some of the deepest and most fundamental laws of physics, such as the structure of space and time. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n5. Refrigerator (Electrolux Infinity I-Kitchen)\nWhy would you need Linux in your refrigerator? How about running a touchscreen on the front, storing your contacts and calendars, recipes and reminders, and letting you keep your family organized with electronic Post-it notes? And, some refrigerators are smart enough to remind you that it's time to buy more milk.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n6. Sony Bravia HDTV\nWe tested the latest Sony Bravia connected TV, which brings you your favorite video-on-demand service from Netflix or Amazon and a lot more. That's thanks (in part) to its Linux underpinnings. Of course, it can show you the latest 3-D video, and the one we tested was even smart enough to turn itself off if there was no one sitting in the room.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n7. Chumby\nThis little supersmart alarm clock runs more than 1,000 apps, and it's all made possible by Linux under the hood. Don't let its diminutive size fool you -- this gadget can display video, call up your favorite Pandora Radio channels and remind you of appointments. Best of all, it's fun.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n8. GPS (Tom Tom)\nBet you didn't know that GPS unit on your car's dashboard was running Linux. Humming away inside many Garmin, Tom Tom (and other) GPS navigators are versions of Linux. Now if the accuracy of the maps could measure up to that sharp Linux code running inside, we wouldn't have to recalculate so often.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n9. Kindle\nThe electronics reader that made e-reading famous is the Amazon Kindle, and displaying its E-Ink screen with enough speed to make it a pleasure to use is -- you guess it -- starts with an \"L.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n10. Self-Driving Car\nSelf-driving cars, otherwise known as autonomous vehicles, are not perfect yet, but they're getting there. Many of them are running Linux, and researchers are using the operating system to find their way toward someday eliminating the need for traffic signals, driver's licenses, and maybe even rules of the road.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGraphic courtesy iStockphoto/DNY59"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2011/09/17/happy-20th-birthday-linux/>