Re: [tlug] A SCO letter

[simon colston <simon@example.com>]

On Sat, 17 May 2003 10:26:45 -0600
Marc Christensen <marc@example.com> wrote:

> Godwin Stewart wrote:
> 
> >The rest of the GNU/Linux O/S is GNU, which as wer all know, stands for
> >"GNU is NOT UNIX", and was also rewritten from scratch.
> >
> This is not true either.  GNU software makes up a _portion_ of most 
> Linux systems.  However, looking not just other programs but also at 
> lines of code, XFree, Apache, KDE, and several peices of software which 
> use the OpenSource linceses as well as the GPL but are not part of the 
> GNU project, make up a majority of the content on most Linux systems 
> (The use of the GPL/LGPL is a choice of license and does not align the 
> software or it's authors with the GNU project).
> 
> <soapbox>
> With that logic, we should also be calling most BSDs "GNU/*BSD", Apple's
> 
> OSX, "GNU/OSX", etc.
> </soapbox>
> 

Godwin was talking about the O/S, the operating system.  XFree, Apache,
KDE, etc., are not part of the OS.  This was the argument used in the
browser wars against Microsoft who claimed that an application, Internet
Explorer, was an integral part of the Windows operating system.

There are plenty of good arguments for not calling Linux "GNU/Linux" but
that is not one of them.

-- 
simon colston
simon@example.com