Quote:
Originally Posted by ApK
I would not. It's too far removed and indirected. I see no difference in terms of the relationship to Linux between using Android, and using an eReader, Tivo or any other Linux-based consumer embedded system.
No Linux knowledge or awareness is needed or helpful.
In a Kindle, the Kindle uses Linux, the user does not.
In an Android device, Android uses Linux, the user does not.
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Of course, I was including Android devices and ereaders when I made that comment.
I guess the main problem is: how do you define Linux? I don't insist that Linux is the kernel, and nothing else, since that's not what most people mean when they say Linux. Yet things get very fuzzy very fast once you start bundling software with that kernel. If you pick apart a Kobo ereader, you will find that the init process, utilities, and libraries are similar to those on a Linux desktop. That even includes the libraries that form the user interface.
Or take the flip side. You can use most Linux distributions without Linux knowledge or awareness. Does Linux cease to be Linux if you don't use the command line, pull up a text editor to modify configuration files, compile your software from source, or any of that other nonsense? Of course not. Yet if you ignore all of that arcane stuff that only a few of us enjoy, what is the difference between Linux and embedded Linux (limiting ourselves to devices with a GUI, like Android or ereaders)?
Linux is more than an OS that has potential. It is an OS that is both mature and is easily adapted to a broad range of applications. Most important though, it is an OS that most people interact with directly -- even if the sugar coating on top differs from device to device.