I’m not trying to attack him, but this is pretty funny.

Context: 11 days ago DT released a video where he called out the people who refer to Linux distributions as “Linux” as opposed to “GNU/Linux”. Today he released a video where he did exactly that.

  • Marduk73@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    241·
    2 years ago

    Good catch and funny. I mean people still say Xerox something when they’re going to use a non xerox copier. But we all know what we mean.

    • bisby@lemmy.worldEnglish
      161·
      2 years ago

      Indeed. “Linux” now means “literally Linux, the kernel” and also “an operating system that uses Linux as the kernel”. Kind of like how people say they use “Windows” but they mean that they use “Windows 11”.

      The only reason saying “GNU/Linux” helps is if you want to give credit to GNU. It doesn’t add clarity to anything. Which is warranted, but also, what if I forked GNU and relabeled it as linux-tools. I believe that’s within my right, isn’t it? To fork and copy things.

      It’s kinda odd to be like “copyright is bad, the works should be free, and just pass around naturally!” … “but also make sure I get credit”

  • oblique_strategies@lemmy.world
    17·
    2 years ago

    I’d just like to interject for a 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!

  • Hextic@lemmy.world
    81·
    2 years ago

    The whole GNU thing has always came off as butthurt from RMS since Linux got all the glory while he and his team of contributors shit the bed on the Hurd kernel.

    Let’s not forget that X.org + all the desktop environments which are very important parts of a functioning OS are not GNU projects either. At what point do we need to say GNU+X11+KDE+Linux?

    All I know is if you say that machine over there runs Linux, I know what you’re talking about.

  • mlg@lemmy.worldEnglish
    6·
    2 years ago

    Unless it’s android, saying linux implies the entire community of projects that have become a part of linux.

    GNU was one of those communities but it’s not the only one which is why saying GNU/Linux is stupid lol.

    Gonna start telling mac users to state they use posix /s