[conspire] Generic Linux?

Tony Godshall tony at of.net
Fri Jun 11 14:03:06 PDT 2010


4c worth of observations:

1. A lot of the issue is the term "operating system" which has grown
to encompass even the user interface.

2. Linux-based operating system distributions have been called just
that, rather than operating systems, presumably following the lead of
BSD.

3. Debian, interestingly, calls itself as "the universal operating
system" and is available with kernels other than Linux.

4. Some have proposed calling Linux-based OSs with lots of GNU stuff
GNU/Linux but this gets awkward.  Debian does this.  See...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU/Linux_naming_controversy

On Fri, Jun 11, 2010 at 12:49, Ehud Kaldor <ehud.kaldor at gmail.com> wrote:
> However, I must agree 'Linux' is a generic term representing many
> brands, such as Ubuntu, Fedora, Slackware and many more. In that
> sense, it is as generic as Windows, which represents Windows NT, 95, 7
> and all. There is no OS called The Linux, and Fedora is A Linux, and
> not a derivative or offshoot  of Linux. My 3 cents.
>
>
>
> On 6/11/10, roger at rogerchrisman.com <roger at rogerchrisman.com> wrote:
>> Oh dear, now I've done it. I deleted "is a generic term that" from the
>> Wikipedia "Linux" article. I think the article is better this way so
>> that people like Mike Cassidy, who may not know what an operating
>> system kernel is, don't start calling BSD generically linux or some
>> other weirdness.
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux
>>
>> Hachoo!!
>>
>> Roger
>>
>> On Fri, Jun 11, 2010 at 11:24 AM, Rick Moen <rick at linuxmafia.com> wrote:
>>> Quoting Roger Chrisman (roger at rogerchrisman.com):
>>>
>>>> Is Linux generic?
>>>
>>> In a journalistic sense of meaning 'kernel and (by extension) system
>>> framework underlying many and diverse distributions', not the trademark
>>> legal sense.
>>>
>>> The 'Linux' brand within the area of computing is trademarked by Linus
>>> Torvalds and administered by the Linux Mark Institute.
>>>
>>> (Once or twice in the last couple'a decades, some other twinke, such as
>>> one Mr. della Croche of Boston, attempted to assert trademark over the
>>> name Linux and related trade dress in order to shake down the Linux
>>> community for money, so Linus finally took out a formal Federal
>>> registered trademark, $330 every 10 years, to make sure they couldn't
>>> try that, any more.)
>>>
>>>
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>>
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>
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