

Linux is not an Operating System - erlik
http://www.tech-no-media.com/2009/07/linux-is-not-operating-system.html

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twir
"Linux is not an Operating System?" Come on! That's just pedantic. Honestly,
when you hear the word Linux do you automatically think of the kernel by
itself or do you think of an entire OS? Personally, I go straight to the
latter.

~~~
jmillikin
_Honestly, when you hear the word Linux do you automatically think of the
kernel by itself or do you think of an entire OS?_

The kernel, of course. GNU/Linux is the most popular OS based on Linux, but
there are other OSes based on it (usually for embedded systems, where the GNU
userspace is too large).

~~~
twir
The kernel, of course.

Silly of me to have asked the question in the first place then? I'm aware of
many differences between distributions. Still, I wouldn't hasten to claim that
the kernel is the only similarity between many or even most distros.

~~~
jmillikin
Most distributions are GNU/Linux -- ie, they use the GNU userland tools (gcc,
bash, coreutils, sometimes Gnome) and the Linux kernel. GNU/Linux is the most
popular OS based on the Linux kernel, but there are others. Android and Chrome
are two examples of non-GNU operating systems based on Linux.

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tdoggette
Nothing new: "it's a kernel," and so on.

