[wellylug] Forking Linux.

Rob Giltrap rob at kiwihq.com
Wed Nov 10 15:47:35 NZDT 2004


 > > Is it time to fork the Linux concept?

Sun Microsysems are doing some interesting things on the desktop which 
causes problems with my lexicon in defining what Linux is and isn't.

As mentioned here...
http://blogs.sun.com/roller/page/dp/20041028#what_s_new_in_solaris1
 ... the latest development realease of Solaris x86 includes X.Org as 
the default instead of XSun

So if you have the Solaris kernel with X.Org, Gnome, Mozilla, 
OpenOffice.org is it a Linux distro? As far as the uninformed end user 
is concerned it might as well be.

Given the move to open source Solaris (one could say open it up further 
than what it is already, as the source code is already available) we end 
up with the BSDs, Linux & Solaris all on an arguably even footing 
running Gnome, what do we call this thing when the kernel itself is so 
interchangable?

For example... on my x86 laptop I use Gnome on a Linux distro (currently 
Ubuntu), in the Sun office I use Gnome via a SunRay, connected to a 
server running Solaris on Sparc. On my PC I use Sun JDS which again is 
Gnome on Linux, though I'm going to also try the next development 
version which is Gnome on Solaris x86.

To save my brain from exploding I now just call myself a 'Gnome User' as 
it is the one constant in my computing world.





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