What grade would you give this?

[ilovemy4kids]

Okay, this was done through an online service with a research paper workshop. I think they graded on the very light side, but before I lower the grade, I would like to get some feedback. 90-100 A, 80-89 B, 70-79 C, 60-69 D

I do break up within those to - and + So be as detailed as you'd like.

Thanks!

(They gave him a perfect score which is why I am doing this)

 

15 year old son, 1st research paper ever, grade 10. putting it into several posts because of lenth:

 

Title page It is properly spaced, just doesn't show that way here:

 

 

The History of Linux

Ronnie

Research Paper Workshop

October 31, 2011

Edited November 7, 2011 by ilovemy4kids
took out name of instructor and company...should have caught it sooner

[ilovemy4kids]

The history and ideals of the creators of the Linux operating system and of the operating system itself is a very interesting and diverse subject. First, the paper will cover the parent operating system, UNIX. Then, the paper will briefly explain the GNU project and MINIX, which are both foundational to the birth of Linux. Next, the paper will discuss the creation of Linux, its name, and its licensing. Thereafter, the paper will discuss Andrew Tanenbaum’s attacks on Linux and finally how Linux is being adopted world wide as a leader in operating systems and its future.

The history of the Linux operating system began with a man named Dennis Ritchie. Ritchie needed to create a programming language that would efficiently compile and execute scripts and be able to make an operating system function highly, thus was the birth of C. C is a programming language, in fact, it is what absolutely everything in the entire computing world is based on, from super computers to wrist watches, from your calculator to your oven, absolutely everything that involves a computer is based in C. Thus was the beginning of all high level programming (Wired).

In the growing technological world of the late 60’s and early 70’s, operating systems popped up here and there, being developed by different organizations, companies, and programming hobbyists. The story of Linux comes into play here with an earlier operating system named UNIX; the UNIX operating system was originally developed in 1969 by Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie of the AT&T Bell Laboratories and was released in 1970 (Staffordshire). This operating system led to an explosion in the development of operating systems because of its versatility and simple to use interface; UNIX was also the parent of other operating systems including Mac and Linux and soon became a competitor to Microsoft. BSD (Berkeley Software Distribution) was created in 1977 and sued for stolen UNIX code by AT&T, this lawsuit was greatly important to Linux because it impaired BSD’s ability to make their operating system, which is stated by Linus Torvalds that he would not have written Linux had the BSD operating system been released (Matpal).

There were a few people and organizations that played a huge role in the development of Linux, these people and organizations are the main reasons for Linux existing at all. In 1983, Richard Stallman started the GNU project, which was designed to be a UNIX compatible software file system. Stallman quit his job at MIT so that they could not try to take ownership or interfere with distributing GNU as free software. The object of the GNU project was to bring a completely free operating system into the market, by allowing the users to view source code in order to help develop the system (Matpal). Also, in 1987, Andrew S. Tanenbaum, a professor at MIT and world renowned programmer, wrote the MINIX operating system, but MINIX was quickly discarded because it was a 16 bit operating system in a world where 32 bit operating systems were growing increasingly popular.

Linus Benedict Torvalds, the father of Linux, was born in Helsinki, Sweden on December 28, 1969. He was named after Linus Pauling, the American Nobel Prize winning chemist, however, Torvalds has said, "I think I was named equally for Linus the Peanuts cartoon character", noting that this makes him half "Nobel-prize-winning chemist" and half "blanket carrying cartoon character†(rebel code). Linus first began his programming studies at the Helsinki University after being fascinated with a computer he had used. Torvalds attended the University of Helsinki from 1988 to 1996, and during this time, he created the Linux operating system. (Wiki-Linus Torvalds)

Linux was originally made in 1991 to be a terminal emulator that would access the UNIX servers at the Helsinki University in Sweden. Torvalds eventually realized that he had the beginnings of the source code for an operating system and started writing more and more code so that he could build an operating system. Linux was written within the MINIX operating system, but instead of using a microkernel, he chose a monolithic kernel but Linux inherited the file system. Another interesting thing about Linux is that it was constructed for exclusive use with the Intel 386 processor, even though Intel was considered to be a “weird†line of processorsat the time. Linux was originally published under its own restrictive license, but was later published under the GNU General Public license, Torvalds once said, “Making Linux GPL’d was definitely the best thing I ever did.†(Brainyquote).Being under the GPL, Linux was able to be added to, modified, shared, and distributed by anyone who wanted to have a go at it.

Another interesting facet in the birth of Linux was the creation of its official name and mascot. Linux was originally named Freax (a mash up of free, freak, and x [as a reference to its relation to UNIX]) (Linux Box). The original Linux kernel was uploaded to the university servers where it was changed to Linux (a mix between Linus and UNIX) by Ari Lemmke, another student at the university, without Linus’ consent but the name stuck (Transclusion). Torvalds had already considered the name Linux but didn’t want to sound self centered so he changed the name. In 1996, Linus Torvalds told the Linux community that the official mascot for Linux would be a penguin; this idea came about when he was bitten by a little penguin while at the zoo.

One major reason that Linux became so popular was the fact that Tanenbaum began a long, drawn out debate between himself and Linus Torvalds by stating that Linux is inferior because it relies on a “weird†processor like the Intel (later disproved as Intel processors have become almost ubiquitous)(Torvalds vs. Tanenbaum debate). Tanenbaum also stated that Linux is obsolete because the kernel is old fashioned and Monolithic (containing all of the required drivers for hardware and software pre loaded) and that there were useless features such as a multithreaded file system (which Tanenbaum refers to as a “performance hackâ€), however, multithreaded file systems are currently a computer standard. Tanenbaum thought that allowing the public to use and manipulate the source code for distribution is wrong because it would make everything free and there would be no total control over the development of an operating system. The result of this debate, however, was not harmful to Linux but actually publicized the operating system in a positive manner by the intelligent ways in which Torvalds debated with Tanenbaum, who was known all over the world for his programming knowledge and work. “Without these debates, Linux may well have remained a limited use niche product in the operating system worldâ€, (quote from Steve Dispensa, CTO of PhoneFactor).

Linux employs a CLI (command line interface, used for writing code and other purposes) and a GUI (graphic user interface, the point and click ability of a computer) and is run on a very unique and ingenious thing called a shell. A shell is like a skin for a computer, such as the XP skin or the Vista skin, but is instead its own GUI, different shells are able to access, manipulate, and customize the system in their own unique way. The most popular shells include the KDE Plasma Desktop, GNOME, xfce, and the most recent shell, Unity. Another main function of Linux is that some distributions have made their operating systems compatible across all other operating systems, meaning that a windows program would be able to run in Linux.

The Open Source Development Lab and the Free Standards Group joined to make the Linux foundation in 2007 (microfaqs), a non-profit organization devoted to the further development of Linux, at which, Linus Torvalds still develops the Linux kernel. Linux and all of its components is developed by the user, for the user; meaning that the community builds the source code and develops the operating system and any related software, all being free of charge. Lastly, Linux runs over half of the Servers in the world and most of the current supercomputers because of its affordability, its compatibility, and its speed. Linux distributions are developing desktop operating systems for use by the general public, and as with all things Linux, they are all absolutely free. The current most popular distribution of the Linux operating system is the Ubuntu distribution, Ubuntu is a derivative of an ancient African word that means “a shared humanityâ€. The concept behind Ubuntu is to take everything proprietary and set it free, to build something built upon the community and not a lab full of programmers, but a living development project that brings a special bond between all of the users, something that has never been done before, giving the world a free operating system that becomes better every day and is simple to use so that anyone can use the operating system without any training.

The history of the happenings in Linux history, from itscreation until today, is a very interesting subject. From its creation to its current development, we can see that the Linux operating system is growing fast and with a little help, has the potential to become a world standard OS. The history of Linux is a very interesting subject and the idea behind the open source movement is phenomenal, in an attempt to build a free world within computers, Linus Torvalds was able to use his programming genius to build an operating system that is changing the world.

[ilovemy4kids]

Moody, Glyn. Rebel Code: inside linux and the open source revolution. New York: Perseus Publishing,

1991.

Wilcock, John. The Staffordshire University Computing Futures Museum Computer Software Page. fcet.staffs.ac.uk. Updated June 23, 2010. Unknown sponsor. Accessed October 19, 2011. http://www.fcet.staffs.ac.uk/jdw1/sucfm/sucfmsoftware.htm

Matpal, Deepak. Origin and History of Linux. Matpal. Updated January 30, 2011. Blogger.com. Accessed October 19, 2011. http://www.matpal.com/2011/01/origin-and-history-of-linux.html

Microfaqs.com. What is Linux. Mirofaqs. Updated 2011. Nixtimes.net. Accessed October 19, 2011. http://microfaqs.com/what-is-linux.html

Transclusion. History of Linux? Transclusion. Updated July, 2011. Unknown Sponsor. Accessed October 19, 2011. http://www.transclusion.dog.jaworzno.pl/p-History_of_Linux

Linux-Box.org. Creation of Linux. Linux Box. Updated 2009. Unknown Sponsor. Accessed October 19, 2011. http://www.linux-box.org/uncategorized/creation-of-linux

Torvalds, Linus. Linus Torvalds Quotes. BrainyQuote.com. Xplore Inc, 2011. Accessed October 23, 2011. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/l/linustorva367380.html

[tofugirl101]

Delete the first paragraph. Please stress to him to never ever tell what the paper is going to say. Just start into the paper.

[ma23peas]

I will be harsh..

 

Substance and content are fairly good (B+ to A-)

 

Never use phrasing "in this paper, this paper, first, next, etc."

 

Syntax variety is lacking..Many subject opener sentences, several sentences repeat (both first sentences of intro and conclusion...use an anecdote, a quote, a question that mirrors the original statement but never repeat the same phrasing).

 

Work cites do not reflect the format he used on his works cited page. When referring to a cite, you only use the last name of the author of the article...I checked one site (Linux based) and indeed it does have an author..he just did not go to the trouble to click on 'admin' link to find it. It is very important to offer specific cites..and to properly format citations, go to www.easybib.com but I always make my students find the author..they're just too lazy to do it...when you do have an author you simply put the last name of the author in parentheses BEFORE the end punctuation of the quote/paraphrase with the exception of inset quotes, there the cite goes AFTER punctuation.

 

Thesis is not clear..he is listing information but not putting it in a clear thesis.

 

Based on these I would have given an 85-90..hope this helps!