Re:Major Linux Problems on the Desktop, 2022 edition
by coldtea on Sunday August 07, 2022 @04:14AM
(#32374817)
>Yeah, Android isn't a "real linux", but, part of the issue is that nothing is "real linux" (...) It's contrived; if Android can do the job of a desktop replacement (which, it can, there are desktop modes), then why isn't it a real linux?
When people say "Linux on the desktop" (assuming they are not being pedants, using it for anything with a Linux kernel that runs on a desktop class machine, e.g. that they'd include Windows if MS replaced the kernel with vmlinux) they don't go for etymological or technical compliance with the term.
They just mean (casually, not as in "real Linux" purity) a family of Linux-derived distros that might even include a company-made desktop environment (e.g. Mint) but do not include Android.
So, phrase-wise this is not as much about having some attributes checked (runs Linux kernel, check, has GNU userland, check, it runs on desktop machines, check), it's more about belonging to a club. Most people saying "Linux on the desktop" don't want to admit Android in that club.
Partly it goes back to the era of the original "Linux on the Desktop" dream 20+ years ago, where the term meant Linux distros taking over from Windows and Mac, and was associated with FOSS, freedom, bazaar style development, community, and so on, winning over proprietary OSes.
When people say "Linux on the desktop" (assuming they are not being pedants, using it for anything with a Linux kernel that runs on a desktop class machine, e.g. that they'd include Windows if MS replaced the kernel with vmlinux) they don't go for etymological or technical compliance with the term.
They just mean (casually, not as in "real Linux" purity) a family of Linux-derived distros that might even include a company-made desktop environment (e.g. Mint) but do not include Android.
So, phrase-wise this is not as much about having some attributes checked (runs Linux kernel, check, has GNU userland, check, it runs on desktop machines, check), it's more about belonging to a club. Most people saying "Linux on the desktop" don't want to admit Android in that club.
Partly it goes back to the era of the original "Linux on the Desktop" dream 20+ years ago, where the term meant Linux distros taking over from Windows and Mac, and was associated with FOSS, freedom, bazaar style development, community, and so on, winning over proprietary OSes.