people Linux is not a OS.

S

Scotch77

Gawd
Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Messages
769
I hear day after day, shoot I even hear and read it in the news. That is people changing there OS to Linux.

People


Linux is not nor will it ever be a Operating System, Linux is just a Kernel and believe it or not, the actual OS is GNU.
 
Linux:
23267180.jpg


GNU Operating System:
MV5274.JPG
 
Scotch77 said:
I hear day after day, shoot I even hear and read it in the news. That is people changing there OS to Linux.

People


Linux is not nor will it ever be a Operating System, Linux is just a Kernel and believe it or not, the actual OS is GNU.
Click to expand...

Technically you are correct
and technically silicon is an insulator doesn't stop people using silicon chips in-place of "semiconducting Integrated Circuits" does it?


go figure. What is absorbed into common speak isn't necessarily 100% accurate BUT is enough to portray the message and follow a discussion

one could say really stressing this is being anal, one could go even further and say that this is the typical attitude ppl expeect from GNU/Linux users, followed shortly by RTFM and why linux won't make it as a mainstream desktop

22:14:55 -!- user [[email protected]] has joined #debian
< user> Hi I am having issues with my linux operating system
<+Guru> Well linux isn't an operating system, but what version of the linux *Kernel* are you running?
< user> errr? I just want to play DVD's
<+Guru> Linux has very little todo with playing DVD's, as long as it has drivers for your drive controller then your GNU apps should be able to play it just fine
< user> sorry I dont understand?
<+Guru> RTFM
22:20:43 -!- user [[email protected]] has quit [Im installing windows]
<+Guru> What a Luser
<+zzlam> hehe yer
Click to expand...
 
eeyrjmr said:
one could say really stressing this is being anal, one could go even further and say that this is the typical attitude ppl expeect from Linux users, followed shortly by RTFM and why linux won't make it as a mainstream desktop
Click to expand...

exactly. Seriously, Scotch77, this is exactly the kind of crap that makes people think the linux community is a bunch of pretentious nerds. I'm a linux user myself (or, pardon my ignorance, a Linux/GNU user) and I think it's ridiculous to harp on people about this. To the vast majority of people, linux is an operating system. It is a collection of gnu/freedesktop/etc. programs bundled with a linux kernel and that IS linux to most people.

EDIT: instead of calling myself a linux user I shall henceforth refer to myself as a Linux kernel running a whole bunch of very much non-linux programs, such as those from the GNU project and freedesktop.org user. :rolleyes:
 
Scotch77 said:
I hear day after day, shoot I even hear and read it in the news. That is people changing there OS to Linux.

People

Linux is not nor will it ever be a Operating System, Linux is just a Kernel and believe it or not, the actual OS is GNU.
Click to expand...
What is the point of this post? Are you really that concerned about something as trivial as semantics?

I'll tell you what, I'll be anal retentive as well:

"That is people are changing their OS to Linux."

"Linux is not nor will it ever be an Operating System."
Click to expand...

I took the liberty of putting your spelling/grammar mistakes in bold and highlighting them.

If I knew you in real life, I'd intentionally call Linux an OS in front of you just to piss you off.
 
Its a fair point to bring up, there are many newbs and non members that are learning about this.
Everyone starts somewhere.
 
No, it's not a fair point to bring up, it's a rediculous point to bring up. Just like saying a "PC" is not a "PC" but really only a IBM compatible computer based on a "PC" basis.

And it backfired really quickly, too. best to close this thread before it spins out of control really. It serves no propose other than attracting a totally pointless discussion that will end in flames.
 
linux is the kernel , but when people say linux they mean to all the other OS except for MS and MAC's for home use
they wont start saying debian suse ubuntu etc.. just linux
 
lol

nope, totally opposite, and i can see why, who cares? just be happy people are moving to linux and help them when they ask for it insteady of being stuck up assholes like the above post shows.
 
Well, I don't think of MacOS X.whatever as the name of the MacOS. I just say Mac or MacOS.

Linux is the general term for the Linux/GNU distros.

I drive a Honda. But, a Honda isn't a car. It's a Honda Accord EX...

Anyone can harp on anyone else for the whole thing, but in the end... It doesn't matter. I don't want to list all the programs that make up my OS using Linux as a kernel. What's the point. I'm using Linux. What I do on top of that is irrelevant. It doesn't matter what WM I use... I'm still using Linux.
 
Scotch77 said:
I hear day after day, shoot I even hear and read it in the news. That is people changing there OS to Linux.

People


Linux is not nor will it ever be a Operating System, Linux is just a Kernel and believe it or not, the actual OS is GNU.
Click to expand...

No one cares. LONG LIVE LINUX! :D
 
Scotch77 said:
Linux is not nor will it ever be a Operating System, Linux is just a Kernel and believe it or not, the actual OS is GNU.
Click to expand...

You're right, but I find it pretty inconvenient saying "GNU/Linux" when I can just call it "Linux" (or "Slackware" if that makes you happy :rolleyes: ).

WARNING! Poor analogy alert:

It would be like saying "Windows XP Professional x64" is improper just because it has more in common with Windows Server 2003 than any other XP derivatives Microsoft had offered.
 
The average computer user doesn't care about the details. To them Linux is another OS. As a fellow user of a Linux OS :) it doesn't bother me when people don't address it properly. I just use it!
 
Jerome36 said:
The average computer user doesn't care about the details. To them Linux is another OS. As a fellow user of a Linux OS :) it doesn't bother me when people don't address it properly. I just use it!
Click to expand...

I take offense to that remark. :D And I care about the details, I assure you. Hell, I preach the fact that Linux isn't an OS just about every chance I get but but but... sadly, the preaching doesn't have a choir to back me up.

Ignorance isn't bliss, it's outright stupidity.
 
Joe Average said:
I take offense to that remark. :D And I care about the details, I assure you. Hell, I preach the fact that Linux isn't an OS just about every chance I get but but but... sadly, the preaching doesn't have a choir to back me up.

Ignorance isn't bliss, it's outright stupidity.
Click to expand...
Ignorance of stupid things isn't stupidity. And trying to argue that "it's not Linux it's GNU/Linux" is stupidity. Do they call it "explorer/solitaire/bsod/Windows"? No.
 
Joe Average said:
I take offense to that remark. :D And I care about the details, I assure you. Hell, I preach the fact that Linux isn't an OS just about every chance I get but but but... sadly, the preaching doesn't have a choir to back me up.

Ignorance isn't bliss, it's outright stupidity.
Click to expand...

You are failing to realize one major point. 99% of people who use computers don't know what an operating system is. When talking to some one, what matters is that they understand the concept and not necessarily the words used to convey that concept.

Let me give you and example. This just happens to be the first one that comes to mind:
Fifty years ago, "gay" used to mean happy. But, over time the conventional usage of the word has changed its literal definition. The point is that conventional usage of a word supersedes the literal definition. There are literally thousands of examples of this throughout history.
 
LstOfTheBrunnenG said:
Oh, like how my Zen Vision:M is an iPod.
Click to expand...

Or how it's an MP3 player. It's not. It's a media player. It can play all sorts of media, not just MP3's. And even a media player may not be the correct term for it.

Let's start calling things as they were patented under! :)
 
Scotch77 said:
I hear day after day, shoot I even hear and read it in the news. That is people changing there OS to Linux.

People


Linux is not nor will it ever be a Operating System, Linux is just a Kernel and believe it or not, the actual OS is GNU.
Click to expand...

Saying that Linux is not an OS is the same as saying "Get me a Kleenex", is not a request for something to blow your nose with.

While true that Linux is JUST the kernel, it has now become synonymous with any OS distribution using Linux as the kernel.

GNU DOES NOT OWN ALL OF THE APPS SURROUNDING THE LINUX KERNEL... and well.. the statement that the OS is GNU is more wrong than stating Linux is an OS.
 
So it's not an OS? It's just the kernel!

So when you click on http://www.linux.com/download_linux, am I transported to a page where I can download the linux kernel? Hey, lookie there. There's a link on the left hand side of that page that says "get linux". Man, those guys are n00bs! So linux.com and linux.org are perpetuating this bad information. Someone should tell Linus. I bet he'd be very upset to know that people are downloading Linux and getting more than a Kernel and then calling it Linux.

Seriously. As long as I've been doodling with Linux, I've never heard anyone actually say that Linux isn't an operating system. When was this revelation made and why wasn't I told? Now I look like a fool in front of all the other IT guys I know.

Dangit!
 
You can honestly nit-pick the same thing for Windows too. I mean the Microsoft Windows Operating System.

It has a Kernel, it's called.. um... the "Windows Kernel," it has a desktop/file manager - Explorer, an Internet browser - Internet Explorer, a media player - Windows Media Player (how aptly named). Microsoft gets away with it..?

Granted super technically yes.. *NIX by itself is not an operating system. But who cares... I frankly notice more people referring to "linux" by distribution names now... ever since Ubuntu and the like have gotten popular. However, if someone is smart enough to use this "Linux" thing you can generally ask them which distro they're using, and I bet they can give you a correct answer. (ie Knoppix, Debian, Gentoo, Ubuntu, Red Hat, Fedora, SuSE, Mandriva, Slackware, CentOS, Sabayon... I could probably go on and on...)
 
Heck, even if you went to all the trouble to replace the Windows Explorer Shell with blackbox and install Cygwin with X11, MinGW, openssh, etc. you're still running Windows.

One thing to ponder about though: If I call it GNU/Linux but then install a lot of proprietary software and drivers (e.g. using Nvidia's binary drivers instead of nv and installing VMWare instead of QEMU), then does that make it "GNU with some closed-sourced software/Linux?"
 
Hell, I can't be expected to spell Ubuntu correctly every time I type it, let alone even pronounce it right with my Mid-West twang (and possible slight lisp) in casual conversation. Now I'm supposed to say GNU/Linux? Do you actually say "slash", or just treat it like a hyphen? So confused... Screw it. Just like my K2 Fatty In-Line Skates were RollerBlades, This shall be Linux :)

I apologize for jumping on the analogy band wagon. Couldn't resist.
 
GushpinBob said:
WARNING! Poor analogy alert:

It would be like saying "Windows XP Professional x64" is improper just because it has more in common with Windows Server 2003 than any other XP derivatives Microsoft had offered.
Click to expand...

Ya that was bad, because Microsoft called it windows xp pro 64, so it wouldnt be improper at all, that is it's name.

it would be like someone saying i run microsoft, or i run windows.....
 
When something semantically inaccurate becomes commonly used enough, it actually becomes valid through the universality of its false use.

For example, this thread is comprised of many obsessive compulsive nitpickings.

The basis of language is common understanding. As understanding evolves so does language. Little by little, your false becomes true. Is that entropy?
 
lord_farfig said:
However, if someone is smart enough to use this "Linux" thing you can generally ask them which distro they're using, and I bet they can give you a correct answer. (ie Knoppix, Debian, Gentoo, Ubuntu, Red Hat, Fedora, SuSE, Mandriva, Slackware, CentOS, Sabayon... I could probably go on and on...)
Click to expand...

My wife is running Ubuntu, but she's just as likely to call it linux as ubuntu, and if you asked her what distro she is running she'd shrug. :p

If you asked her what flavour of linux she'd say ubuntu though. I'm working on it (and learning how to use it myself as well).
 
Scotch77 said:
I hear day after day, shoot I even hear and read it in the news. That is people changing there OS to Linux.

People


Linux is not nor will it ever be a Operating System, Linux is just a Kernel and believe it or not, the actual OS is GNU.
Click to expand...

Who cares, as long as they use it.
 
I have about as much desire to explain to my clients that Linux is "just a kernel" as I do to explain to them what GNU means - i.e. zero desire. They won't care, and neither do I.
 
I know linux is just a kernel but who cares it better than windows and free so if someone wants to run it on a pc then let them, i have it on my laptop and love it and i know its missing some things like photoshop but who cares just dual boot with xp for your photoshop and gameing needs. Also now alot of people run linux especialy ubuntu because its so damn easy to use and they wont get virus' and spyware.
 
jtg1993 said:
I know linux is just a kernel but who cares it better than windows and free so if someone wants to run it on a pc then let them, i have it on my laptop and love it and i know its missing some things like photoshop but who cares just dual boot with xp for your photoshop and gameing needs. Also now alot of people run linux especialy ubuntu because its so damn easy to use and they wont get virus' and spyware.
Click to expand...

Not true. Linux based OSes are susceptible to Viruses and/or Spyware. However, due to the nature of how infections occur Linux based OSes are more secure compared to Windows and far far less susceptible to infection.

Prime example with your Photoshop issue and "Linux." The GIMP is an Open Source program compatible with Linux (and Windows) that is bundled with Ubuntu and other distributions as well. It's basically a free clone of Photoshop published under the GNU license. Hence the name, GNU Image Manipulation Program. The GIMP is a program you use in conjunction with the Linux Kernel. Anyway... did I have a point..?

Where am I... I think I'm lost... lol.

Just my 2 cents.
 
I know, its like when people call me a hacker and I tell them to piss off because hackers are good; crackers are bad! :mad:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top