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> Android is not Linux I really, _really_ hate this statement. Android meets the only definition of 'linux' that matters IMO: it runs on a linux kernel. That's

> Android is not Linux I really, _really_ hate this statement. Android meets the only definition of 'linux' that matters IMO: it runs on a linux kernel. That's linux, full stop. That said, I do find myself agreeing with most of the points listed there. I just not sure I'd call them 'linux on the desktop' issues per se. They're wayland/xorg issues, deb/rpm/flatpack/snap issues, pulseaudio/alsa issues, gtk/qt issues, etc. None of which are tied to the linux kernel. The fact that all of those technologies can and do run on bsd kernels (er, maybe not alsa). Android is linux. Chromeos is linux. The issues above are really issues with the free/libre desktop distributions, mostly not linux per se. ....maybe I'm just a pedant on this issue.

AckSyn 8y ago
It's not Linux. Just live with it.
azinman2 8y ago
Yes but when you say “state of the Linux desktop,” all of this gets bundled in. A fair number of bits also touch the kernel directly — sound, video, etc.
swebs 8y ago
I'd just like to interject for moment. What you're refering to as Linux, is in fact, GNU/Linux, or as I've recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux. Linux is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibs, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full OS as defined by POSIX. Many computer users run a modified version of the GNU system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of GNU which is widely used today is often called Linux, and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the GNU system, developed by the GNU Project. There really is a Linux, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. Linux is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the machine's resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Linux is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system: the whole system is basically GNU with Linux added, or GNU/Linux. All the so-called Linux distributions are really distributions of GNU/Linux!
- kkarakk 8y ago
  /g/ on hackernews
jcelerier 8y ago
> Android meets the only definition of 'linux' that matters IMO: it runs on a linux kernel. That's linux, full stop. So what do you think of WSL ? It has all the things of an Ubuntu, but it does not run a Linux kernel.
- Octoth0rpe 8y ago
  I think it's misnamed. I'm not sure what I'd call it though. Gnu/Windows Subsystem? But yeah, linux to me is anything running a linux kernel. I think the _real_ edge case that I'm not sure on are the l4 kernels that run linux kernels for drivers.

AckSyn 8y ago

It's not Linux. Just live with it.

azinman2 8y ago

Yes but when you say “state of the Linux desktop,” all of this gets bundled in. A fair number of bits also touch the kernel directly — sound, video, etc.

swebs 8y ago

I'd just like to interject for moment. What you're refering to as Linux, is in fact, GNU/Linux, or as I've recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux. Linux is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibs, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full OS as defined by POSIX. Many computer users run a modified version of the GNU system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of GNU which is widely used today is often called Linux, and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the GNU system, developed by the GNU Project. There really is a Linux, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. Linux is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the machine's resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Linux is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system: the whole system is basically GNU with Linux added, or GNU/Linux. All the so-called Linux distributions are really distributions of GNU/Linux!

kkarakk 8y ago
/g/ on hackernews

jcelerier 8y ago

> Android meets the only definition of 'linux' that matters IMO: it runs on a linux kernel. That's linux, full stop. So what do you think of WSL ? It has all the things of an Ubuntu, but it does not run a Linux kernel.

Octoth0rpe 8y ago
I think it's misnamed. I'm not sure what I'd call it though. Gnu/Windows Subsystem? But yeah, linux to me is anything running a linux kernel. I think the _real_ edge case that I'm not sure on are the l4 kernels that run linux kernels for drivers.