Is there really a way for any one distro to be "more Linux' than another?
Possibly the answer is yes and no, right down the middle.
For example, you have several distros that only package and include a limited number of apps and tools that best fulfill what their distros intended goal is.
These are almost always "sub-distros" or remasters and spinoffs of the 'bigger' distros.
It's hard to say that one distro is "more Linux" than any other, because technically, as long as they contain the Linux kernel, then they are Linux.
Now is where we bring GNU into the GNU/Linux discussion. GNU is where a whole lot of the apps Linux users use come from.
So maybe the question shouldn't be "Is a distro more Linux than another", maybe it should be "Is this distro more GNU than another?"
Take a distro like PCLinuxOS or Mint. I like to refer to these because I like those versions and they work well. They are also examples of distros with a specific goal in mind. To be a top performing 'desktop' distro.
They have laid out quite specifically that the intention of their distro is to be the best GNU/Linux desktop they can be. They are not interested in being known as a server distro or a workstation distro. They are all about the Linux desktop.
Consequently, they focus more on packages that support that goal.
Now if we take a distro like Debian, we see they are about presenting as much as they can that exists in the GNU/Linux world. The repositories for Debian are notorious for their size.
I have heard people say that "If it's not in Debian, it's not to be had." While I'm sure that's not exactly true, it is true they have a formidable possession of a whole lot of packages.
Debian appears to not be about presenting a specific presentation in focus rather than being able to use it as a general, across the board, make of it what you will, kind of distro.
Red Hat and OpenSuse have taken a slightly less generalized position than that. While their repositories are quite sizable, they do lean more toward the commercial/enterprise usage of GNU/Linux.
Consequently, CentOS is the same, if not a bit tidier and free of course.
Not to leave our source based distro friends out, they have their fair share of apps available also, but, being source based, it's up to the user to "roll your own' as it were.
It is interesting to see how some source based distros are starting to meet users 'halfway" in providing a limited number of base applications in pre packaged form now.
What does all this prove? Not a danged thing.
There really is no such thing as 'My distro is more Linux than your distro" because they all have the Linux kernel, or they wouldn't be Linux at all.
What about the GNU factor, is distro A more GNU than Distro B? hmmm, possibly.
But, what it really boils down to is, does a distro help you do what you want to do?
If it does, by golly, you have a winner on your hands.
If not, well, there is a long list of distros that could have just what you're looking for.
They're all Linux after all.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
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1 comments:
This is going to tick off some users (or abusers?). Some people believe that RMS is god and that it is GNU/Linux or nothing.
They think that referring to Linux as anything but the kernel is a grievous mistake and are keen to point that out.
They are on a crusade to clean up our user of language. To them, labels and proper user is all important.
You can't say open source. You must use free software. Personally, I don't like the word software, so I use open source, but that is just me. Software sounds like something that you get on a disk.
You can't say Linux unless you are referring only to the kernel. The fact that most distributions call themselves Linux and not GNU/Linux makes them wrong, and me too I guess and most of the planet. I know the difference, but GNU/Linux just does not cut it. It is a dumb name. In fact GNU is a dumb name. If they want adoption they should have chosen a better name.
If they are right that it is a black and white world and it is all or nothing, then they are the losers and always will be because Linux is gaining strength and GNU is losing it and that will not change despite their best efforts to point out our shortcomings.
To me, it is Linux and one dog is not more or less of a dog because of the name. You can call it smoked cheese if you want and it will still look and act like a dog.
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