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7 Common Linux Myths You Should Stop Believing
(www.howtogeek.com)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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Would this be what people are getting at when they say "Gnu/Linux"? Or is it closer to saying "Linux Mint" or something?
This is exactly what people mean when they say GNU/Linux. They are trying to say that it is “the GNU Operating Syatem” with the Linux kernel.
This nonesense though. Please ignore them.
Linux Mint is an operating system. It uses the Linux kernel. The fact that it includes a handful of GNU packages in no way justifies co-opting the branding. Linux Mint includes A LOT of software from many sources. Are you going to try to list them all in the name?
Linux Mint would be an OS built on the Linux Kernel.
Some people have a hang-up on calling any Linux kernel based OS "Linux", because unlike its competitor, there is a lot of OS flavors.
You have "main" OSes (Debian, Fedora, etc.) and derivative OSes based on these "main" OSes.
Linux Mint for example, is based on Ubuntu, which is based on Debian.
At this point, it is semantics.