I agree with your points - but in the article we're talking about Linux for the desktop - which is inherently about design. I think it's maybe better to think

I agree with your points - but in the article we're talking about Linux for the desktop - which is inherently about design. I think it's maybe better to think of the kernel as something like a 'chipset' in terms of it's relevance to the desktop. Linux? BSD? It's like AMD vs. Intel. The user-based OS is so abstracted it almost doesn't matter. It's a technical detail.