MINIX (1990's): The most significant OS you've never heard of.

(24 February 2026) We've all heard of Linux, right? The brilliant kernel created by Linus Torvalds in 1991. But of course, all OSes and kernels, with the exception of GMOS and other mainframe punchcard systems, had to be developed on SOMETHING that came first (The reason I mention GMOS, or General Motors Operating System, is because it was the first "OS", going off of something that handles other programs and manages resources; although it only did the former in a kind of early OS called batch processing). And now that my side-tangent (about how OSes are a Michiganian invention) is over, I forgot to bring up: Linux was developed at first using MINIX. So, what was this OS and what can you do with it?

Watch on YouTube

Software used

- Paint.NET 5.1.11

- Audacity 3.7.7

- DaVinci Resolve 20.3.1

Music (in chronological order)

- "Synergy" by Geographer, YouTube Audio Library.

- "Interplanetary Alignment" by NoMBe, YouTube Audio Library.

- "Pamgaea" by Kevin MacLeod, incompetech.com.

- "Pamgaea" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
       Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
       http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

- "Leveled Up!" by Bad Snacks, YouTube Audio Library.

Works Cited

- [1] "Minix", English Wikipedia. Last edited 7 November 2025, accessed 27 December 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minix

- [2] "An Introduction to MINIX", Bruce Byfield, Linux Journal. 1 August 2010, accessed 27 December 2025. https://www.linuxjournal.com/article/10754

- [3] "Just for Fun: The story of an accidental revolutionary", Linus Torvalds and David Diamond. HarperCollins. 4 June 2002 (Reprint). ISBN 978-0-06-662073-2.

- [4] "Operating Systems: Design and Implementation [The MINIX book]", Andrew Tanenbaum and Albert Woodhull. Pearson Prentice-Hall. 2006 (Third Edition). ISBN 978-93-325-5051-3.

- [5] "Tanenbaum–Torvalds debate", English Wikipedia. Last edited 29 July 2025, accessed 27 December 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanenbaum%E2%80%93Torvalds_debate

- [6] "Minix 3", English Wikipedia. Last edited 17 September 2025, accessed 28 December 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minix_3

- [7] "MINIX is dead", Thom Holwerda, OSnews. 28 May 2023, accessed 27 December 2025. https://www.osnews.com/story/136174/minix-is-dead/

- [8] "Intel Management Engine", English Wikipedia. Last edited 5 January 2026, accessed 11 January 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Management_Engine

Media used

- Andrew_S._Tanenbaum_2012.jpg by Jantangring, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

- Haiku_R1_Beta_3_desktop_screenshot_(JA).png by Haiku, Inc. (MIT <http://opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.php> or GPL <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>), via Wikimedia Commons

- Linus_pc_(35391578).jpg by mlabowicz from Palatine, IL, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

- Linus_Torvalds.jpeg from Linuxmag.com, December 2002, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons

- LinusTorvalds.jpg by Césavr, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

- LinuxCon_Europe_Linus_Torvalds_03.jpg by Krd, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

- Minix3_Logo.png By Fabior1984 - Crop of File:Minix3.png, BSD, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=141406477

- Minix_3.png - The original uploader was Sebasbronzini at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons

- "Pamgaea" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

- Raspbianscreenshot.png by 小林準, GPL <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>, via Wikimedia Commons

- Sinclair_QL_Top_(cutout).png by EWX, CC BY-SA 2.5 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5>, via Wikimedia Commons

- VU_Amsterdam.jpg By Galaufs - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=84669744