From humble beginnings, Linux[1] has been adopted for everything from low-power electronics to supercomputers running in space. It is able to do this because of its versatility and the openness of the Linux community to entertain new use-cases. The multiplier effect of community software development allows companies and individuals in different industries to work together on the same software and do the things that are important to them.
Let's look deeper into four interesting places you'll find Linux.
In your TV
If you have a SmartTV, BluRay player, or set-top box from your internet provider, chances are you are streaming your home entertainment over Linux[2]. Linux has become a leading embedded OS for SmartTVs.
The popular choices for SmartTV operating systems include a number of Linux variants, including Android, Tizen[3], WebOS, and Amazon’s FireOS. More than half of all SmartTVs now run Linux inside.
In your car
The average modern car contains dozens of microprocessors that run everything from the radio, dashboard, and heating and cooling systems to the fuel injection. The next generation of car[4] is internet-connected and will include a full infotainment[5] system based on Linux.
Automotive Grade Linux[6], hosted at the Linux Foundation, is a project to create a common base platform for in-vehicle systems. There are plans to extend it to cover telematics systems and future applications like autonomous[7] driving systems.
On a supercomputer
In 2006, the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory wanted to build a supercomputer[8], and they wanted to do it cheaply. They needed a lot of compute power, GPUs for accelerated floating-point math, low power requirements, and above all, low cost.