[nzlug] RMS Itinerary Update

[Bruce Kingsbury]

I think RMS's point is that a *NIX operating system traditionally means the
kernel and all of the stuff in /bin and /sbin that actually makes things
work. Which is fine, except where the stuff in /bin doesn't actually include
any of the GNU tools, such as in an embedded system where busybox is used
instead, and there is no compiler included.

We got into this X11/BSD/GNU/Linux discussion the last time RMS was in NZ.
It completely misses the point imho..


2008/7/13 Toby Collett
<tcollett+lists at plan9.net.nz<tcollett%2Blists at plan9.net.nz>
>:

> Or to take the opposite point, If you are going to worry about whether it
> is
> Linux or GNU/Linux, should you not embrace all of the desktop software that
> is not under the GNU or GPL umbrella. Should we not just skip straight to
> FOSS/Linux? apart from FUGs being a fairly ungainly acronym...
>
> Toby
>
> 2008/7/12 Bruce Kingsbury <zcat at zcat.geek.nz>:
>
> > > > Is busybox 'gnu' software?
> > >
> > > You still use gcc to compile it....
> > >
> > >
> > That doesn't make busybox or linux 'gnu' software. Besides, there are a
> > number of other c compilers that you could use, if you really wanted to.
> >
> > Just thinking about this a little more, the number of Busybox+Linux
> > embedded
> > devices, for example practically every DSL router, SIPphone or ATA
> adapter,
> > network camera or PVR, might already be greater than the number of
> > "Gnu/Linux" desktop and server installs. I don't know the numbers on
> this,
> > but it seems to me that all those Windows users who outnumber us by more
> > than ten to one are pretty often using a Linux-based router to get on teh
> > intarweb.
> >
> > So in answer to Simon; yes, I can think of a few cases where Linux is
> used
> > without the Gnu tools.
> > _______________________________________________
> > NZLUG mailing list NZLUG at linux.net.nz
> > http://www.linux.net.nz/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nzlug
> >
>
>
>
> --
> This email is intended for the addressee only and may contain privileged
> and/or confidential information
> _______________________________________________
> NZLUG mailing list NZLUG at linux.net.nz
> http://www.linux.net.nz/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nzlug
>



-- 
This email is for the intended recipient only. If you are not the intended
recipient you must burn your computer, while standing on one foot and
chanting the entire jabberwocky.
The opinions expressed here are not necessarily the opinions of the person
who expressed them.