From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: "Robert Thorpe" Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.help Subject: Re: "MIT/GNU/Linux" (was: gnu vs. xemacs) Date: 30 Dec 2006 09:49:15 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com Message-ID: <1167500955.758993.62000@v33g2000cwv.googlegroups.com> References: <53DBB117-63D5-45D2-8863-7B90BEDB0D54@gmail.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: lo.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" X-Trace: sea.gmane.org 1167504059 12851 80.91.229.12 (30 Dec 2006 18:40:59 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 30 Dec 2006 18:40:59 +0000 (UTC) Original-X-From: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Sat Dec 30 19:40:59 2006 Return-path: Envelope-to: geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([199.232.76.165]) by lo.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.50) id 1H0j8a-0003qZ-Uq for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Sat, 30 Dec 2006 19:40:57 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1H0j8a-0007E0-FA for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Sat, 30 Dec 2006 13:40:56 -0500 Original-Path: shelby.stanford.edu!newsfeed.stanford.edu!postnews.google.com!v33g2000cwv.googlegroups.com!not-for-mail Original-Newsgroups: gnu.emacs.help Original-Lines: 45 Original-NNTP-Posting-Host: 80.0.110.20 Original-X-Trace: posting.google.com 1167500961 18441 127.0.0.1 (30 Dec 2006 17:49:21 GMT) Original-X-Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com Original-NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 30 Dec 2006 17:49:21 +0000 (UTC) In-Reply-To: User-Agent: G2/1.0 X-HTTP-UserAgent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-GB; rv:1.7.12) Gecko/20050919 Firefox/1.0.7,gzip(gfe),gzip(gfe) Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com Injection-Info: v33g2000cwv.googlegroups.com; posting-host=80.0.110.20; posting-account=hWoAPxMAAAAnBKSBz1ZivwUPPjEuve7bvVCHZQ8rhrluPfwcBJd92w Original-Xref: shelby.stanford.edu gnu.emacs.help:144435 Original-To: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-BeenThere: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Original-Sender: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Errors-To: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.help:40038 Archived-At: Micha Feigin wrote: > > -----Original Message----- > > From: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+michf=post.tau.ac.il@gnu.org > > [mailto:help-gnu-emacs-bounces+michf=post.tau.ac.il@gnu.org] > > On Behalf Of B. Smith-Mannschott > > Sent: Friday, December 29, 2006 2:46 PM > > To: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org > > Subject: "MIT/GNU/Linux" (was: gnu vs. xemacs) > > > > > > On Dec 29, 2006, at 02:12, Leo wrote: > > > In every emacs-* mailing lists, it has been extremely consistent to > > > use Linux and GNU/Linux i.e. Linux means the kernel and > > GNU/Linux is > > > the operating system that contains a Linux kernel. > > > > The operating system is the kernel. No it's not. This is an insidious idea started by Microsoft in the 80s who wanted to ship DOS with virtually no utilities. They tried to call it an OS even though it was only a part of one. Historically an OS has meant "the stuff that is needed to make a computer usable", not just the kernel. Even they have moved away from doing this, far away. > > Actually, we should use "MIT/GNU/Linux", at least when > > What about qt etc ? ... > > at all tempted to shorten a handy phrase like > > "MIT/GNU/Linux". It just rolls of the tongue. > > > > I'm inclined to agree with the point made by the pedants of > > "GNU/ Linux", but I do wonder: where does it end? This is a problem. The systems that are used today have been built from software from many sources, large voluntary projects, private individual hobbiests, and corporations. The largest things in a distro used to be, in terms of lines of code, Linux, GCC, X, Glibc and Emacs. Now there are things like OO.org and Mozilla. There is no really good name anymore. Perhaps these systems should be described as "Free/Open software operating systems".