Re: Linux-based OS
Hi lucelem!
On Saturday 15 September 2012 10:06:23 lucelem wrote:
> Preface: Hello! Sorry, if message sent for wrong email. Replace it, if
> it's true and sorry for my english...
>
> I'm going to try linux at soon. But now this fucking holywars about
> Linux or GNU/Linux is irritating me.
What holywars? As far as I can see it's just Stallman and fellows who are insisting
on GNU/Linux. But that is rather logical that he wants his project to be mentioned,
as one cannot deny its contributions to free software (Lots of core software on
typical Linux systems, like bash, is written by the GNU project. I've even seen that
software in Mac OS X).
> All popular
> distributions call their systems is "Linux" or "Linux-based OS". For
> examples: Fedora Linux, Arch Linux, OpenSUSE Linux, Gentoo Linux,
> Linux Mint, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Ubuntu Linux, Slackware Linux,
> etc., but only debian team use GNU/Linux at least in their
> documentation for a long time.
I don't know the others, but Ubuntu excessively mixes free and non-free software
(with the aim to offer the best possible Linux experience), so I don't think it
would be a good idea to call it "GNU/Linux", as it implies that Ubuntu's running
almost just GNU software (which is free with no exceptions).
> I don't care about GNU, because
> Stallman is stupid paranoid, but i appreciate em for GNU software,
> what allow me booting Linux-based OS on my computer. Do i need a feel
> freedom when use Free Operating System?
What do you mean with "a feel freedom when using free OS?" For a normal computer
user, it doesn't make a huge difference in the look and feel when you are using
software with built-in freedom, apart from the facts that it's more stable, not as
bloated as proprietary software (just think of that well-known PDF reader with its
over 500 MBytes, while the free Evince PDF reader just weighs something between 30
and 50 MBytes, if I remember correctly) and extremely customizable, hell, you can
even tailor a system that makes an old Pentium III driven laptop feel like it still
could cope with almost everything (experience value)!
However, when you really want to feel a huge difference between free and non-free,
you just need to replace the stock ROM of your smartphone or tablet with an
OpenSource mod like CyanogenMod. You'll get struck by the possibilities that open
up when you realize that you now have full control of your device.
> Why i can't call it Linux? It's not a Freedom!
It's not about freedom, it's just a matter of definiteness. You can't call a car a
door though every car has at least one door.
Look, "Linux" is the name of a single program, the so-called "kernel". You can
imagine the kernel like the kernel of a fruit – that's where it got its name from –
and it's the most basic program that takes care of the processes started by the
application programs and trying to make use of the computer, manages the RAM
occupancy and many many more.
In short, it connects the hardware with the software and makes the programs you use
run on the computer on or below your table. The BIOS/EFI is there, too, even below
the kernel, but it's part of the hardware, so it doesn't matter here.
So, there is not "the" Linux and the general public – above all everyone outside
the IT-crowd – are actually wrong when they regard Linux as a whole operating
system, but the term established that way and we can't change it anymore (provided
we have could at any time). But you can do it like the vendors of so-called
embedded electronics, take Linux and build an operating system around it, or the
other way round, incorporate it into your software. You just may not call it simply
"Linux" to avoid confusion, as Linux is very popular in embedded electronics and is
able to run on everything between a radio alarm clock and a supercomputer (and yes,
it does).
> Are you going to review this position today? If
> not, i migrating to PC-BSD and will use it as my desktop OS.
That would be too bad. If my remarks above were not enough, I assume there is
nothing I can do to make you use Linux (besides the usual marketing).
Sorry for the long text, but you asked for it ;-)
Greetings
Erik
--
Linux User: 499744
Linux Machine: 434256
No need to CC me ;)
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