Re: Linux is not for consumers!

[Richard Kimber <rkimber@ntlworld.com>]

On Thu, 11 Dec 2003 16:24:39 -0700
"Monique Y. Herman" <spam@bounceswoosh.org> wrote:

> Linux is a kernel.  I can almost guarantee that you've never, for
> example, discussed an implementation bug with a microsoft or apple
> kernel developer.
> 
> The gripe is about "linux" as though all of the thousands of
> applications that happen to run on linux are part of it.  But the
> reality is, they are separate projects.  One app may have great
> documentation; another may not.  Would you blame microsoft because some
> random application you bought from compusa had poor documentation?

You must be aware, surely, that there are two usages of 'Linux'.  One is
the one you have given, which is the original meaning.  But there is also
the general evolved man-or-woman-in-the-street usage that applies to the
distribution as a whole.  Of the two magazines in my local newsagent's
shop that have 'Linux' in the title, neither deals exclusively with the
kernel, and kernel-specific content is probably only a smallish proportion
of the total.  Does 'Debian Linux' only refer to the Debian version of the
kernel?  It is this second sense that was relevant to to the discussion
about the consumer.

- Richard.