Bonum Certa Men Certa

GNU World Domination, Not Linux World Domination

Don't mistake hens for eggs

GCC



Summary: Remarks on crediting the Linux project rather than the GNU project for what's clearly the success of the latter (preceding Linux by 8 or so years)

HAVING spent the past week or so collecting positive GNU/Linux stories, I could not help but notice that nobody -- almost nobody at all -- even bothers to mention the GNU project. It's the project which Linux essentially came from or got famous through.



Introductions to Linux tend to leave out the "GNU" [1] almost as though the "Linux way" [2] simply means not the equivalent of "UNIX way" but UNIX without all the software tool that GNU developers had replicated one by one for 8 years before Linux even existed. This is unjust. It's "Linux" which gets the credit for going out to space (more along those lines in [3]), even though it's usually Debian GNU/Linux that gets deployed outside of Earth after Windows failure. For the uninitiated, Windows failed ISS by catching malware. GNU/Linux does not have such issues [4] and it's mostly --if ever -- used for detecting and analysing malware [5]. Academics and even part-time Mac users choose GNU/Linux for technical advantages [6,7] and for some it is clear that GNU/Linux has won [8], with more people willing to give it a try [9].

Don't let marketing people twist the success of the GNU project as a success of "Linux" (as in the kernel). This is definitely deceiving and it helps distract people from the philosophy that the operating system really came from, driving us further away from the goals.

Users may not care about "ideological camps" [9], but this is about the name, not the ideology, which users will be free to explore or ignore. GNU Hurd 0.5 is out now [10] (it predates Linux) and the Free Software Awards are still showing that there is more to GNU/Linux than Linux [12]. Glyn Moody recalls the early days of GNU [13] as it's the 30th anniversary of the project [14] and the FSF, the steward of GNU, is hiring [15]. While the GNU project is three decades old [16,17], Software Freedom Day is only a decade old [18], and the GPL, a cornerstone of GNU which Linux embraced after being proprietary, is still proving to be popular [19], just like the software itself [20].

Don't buy the media hype. The revolution came from GNU, not Linux.

Related/contextual items from the news:



  1. Introduction to Linux: In The Beginning…
    As most of you that are regular visitors to this site know, we not only write about Linux (opinions, tutorials and reviews) but we offer comprehensive training that can take anyone from a complete “Linux newbie” to someone who is prepared for their Linux Professional Institute Certification Exam as well as a career in the industry.


  2. Video: The Linux Way


  3. Penguins in Space! Asteroid mining and Linux
    No, Planetary Resource isn't kidding. It’s working on using Linux, open-source software, and commercial off-the-shelf hardware to build the first robotic asteroid miners.


  4. Linux is more secure but not invulnerable
    Jack Wallen believes Linux is more secure than other platforms, but it's only as secure as the packages installed.
  5. Reverse Engineer and Analyze Malware with REMnux
    Getting infected by malware is easy. You just have to open a suspicious file, or visit a malicious website, and boom, your computer is infected. On the other hand, analyzing and reverse engineering malware is a much difficult task that only experts can do with specialized tools. If you are one of those who are curious about how malware works, there is a Linux distro that comes with all the necessary tools for you to analyze malware.


  6. A Mac for a Linux user
    I still use Linux on my main PC because I enjoy the flexibility and power it offers.


  7. The Linux Setup - Bryan Behrenshausen, Academic


  8. Mark My Words, Linux Will Win!
    That’s a big deal. In August, Jon Peddie Research predicted that Bohemia’s ARMA III would drive more than $800 million in PC hardware sales all by itself, and JPR estimates the total market for PC gaming hardware to hit nearly $18 billion in 2013. That’s a lot of quarters, and it’s all funneled toward Windows machines.
  9. So I heard you want to try Linux
    We have all been there. Our first attempt at Linux. And we have all forgotten it. The human mind does a wonderful trick of glossing over less glamorous details, forgetting boring ones, heightening trauma and success, making us believe that our journey to becoming special, i.e. Linux users, was a fairly trivial man-it-up ordeal. We have long lost the touch with reality, which is, most people have no darn clue about operating systems, especially not one named Linux.


  10. Open Source Software and New Users
    It’s hard for new users to understand the perspective and ideological camps behind free and open source software because there is nothing else like it in the world. Insisting that someone adapt immediately to the ideals put forth by FOSS is, in my opinion, an unrealistic expectation. When someone is new to a group or community, demanding they adhere to a set of rules they don’t understand can be overwhelming. In my opinion, a welcoming stance from the community members followed by a path of self discovery is what develops new users into the strongest supporters of free and open source software.


  11. Linux Kernel Replacement, GNU Hurd 0.5, Released After 16 Years
    GNU Hurd has been hailed as the replacement for Linux kernel and 16 years later the developers have managed to release yet another update, 0.5.


  12. Free Software Foundation Opens Nominations for the 16th Annual Free Software Awards
    The Free Software Foundation (FSF) and the GNU Project today announced the opening of nominations for the 16th annual Free Software Awards.


  13. Richard Stallman on the Painful Birth of GNU
    The first announcement about the GNU project appeared in September of that year, beginning Stallman's long journey to recreate the community of hackers he had found then lost at MIT.
  14. GNOME 3.10 Updates, GNU 30th Anniversary
    Just one day after the celebrated GNOME 3.10 release came the first updates. Mutter, Mutter Wayland, and GNOME Shell were updated today to fix some undetected bugs in the release yesterday. On top of the release, Gnomers will be celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of the GNU operating system.


  15. FSF seeks full-time senior GNU/Linux systems administrator
    The Free Software Foundation (FSF), a Boston-based 501(c)(3) charity with a worldwide mission to protect freedoms critical to the computer-using public, seeks a full-time senior systems administrator.

    The ideal candidate will be a well-rounded GNU/Linux systems administrator who enjoys learning and problem-solving. (S)he will be familiar with the free software community and how it works, and will be more interested in making a substantial contribution to software freedom and having employment consistent with ethical ideals than obtaining the highest salary.


  16. GNU is three decades old, happy birdthday!
  17. In praise of Richard Stallman, GNU's open sourcerer


  18. Software Freedom Day celebrates 10th year in Christchurch


  19. Votes Tallied on the GPL and the NSA’s Spying
  20. Finding Free Software Just Became Easier




Recent Techrights' Posts

Claim That Finance and HR at IBM Already Work on the Next Wave of IBM Layoffs, Media Silence Persists
The media is still telling misleading nonsense about IBM layoffs (like some fantasy about 'rehiring' thousands for "AI")
Claims of More IBM Layoffs a Week Before 'Christmas Week'
Of course, as usual, nobody in the media says anything
 
The Register MS Does the "AI" Keyword Stuffing Because It Gets Paid to Do "AI" Keyword Stuffing
They are in effect profiting from legitimisation and promotion of a Ponzi scheme
Blogs to Read (or Even Binge on) When You Look for a Daring and Different Perspective
If you have free time and want to check out interesting old articles/posts, consider these people
Paying the Price for IBM's Leadership Buying Worthless Companies With Capital It Doesn't Have
For some people the last day at the company is Christmas Eve
When Malformed RSS or Atom Feeds Clog Up (or Even Crash) Programs
RSS readers are an excellent way to keep on top of news online
Publication Plans for the Coming Weeks
We've begun this week with many articles and plan to carry on until tomorrow
EPO People Power - Part XIV - EPO Management Living in Fantasy Land
wrongly assumes that any crime committed by the EPO will always be brushed aside
Secret Code is Undesirable
If someone wants you to use proprietary software, say no. Secret code is even worse.
Google News Still Has an LLM Slop Problem (With Slop Images Too), But Google Itself is a Pusher of Slop
If Google keeps shilling and selling slop as "AI", and moreover if people keep hating slop (there's growing awareness of this problem), then at the end Google will suffer greatly
Gemini Links 16/12/2025: Bingo Card and i586 in 2025
Links for the day
Links 16/12/2025: Security and Conflict (No Territorial Concessions in Ukraine)
Links for the day
With Half of December Over, FSF Two-Thirds of the Way Towards Funding Goal
If you can share some money this month, the FSF should be a priority
A Lot of People Don't Want "Smart" (Things That Spy, Stop Working, Cannot be Repaired Easily)
They also don't want slop disguised as "intelligence"
Links 16/12/2025: More GAFAM (Now Amazon) Layoffs and iRobot Chapter 11
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, December 15, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, December 15, 2025
Wrapping Up and Ending "Slopwatch"
An "end-of-life" improvement
Gemini Links 15/12/2025: How We Lost Communication to Entertainment, Dichotomy Between the Real and the Digital
Links for the day
The New Chief Editor at The Register MS is a Microsofter, Now They Increase Microsoft Coverage and Add Microsoft Slant to 'Linux' Coverage
Did Microsoft pay some more?
GAFAM "doesn't depend on any sort of lock-in, humans just don't want to be free anymore," according to MinceR
As many readers are aware, our criticism of UEFI (restricted boot in particular) attracted a lot of online harassment against us, including stalking and libel
IBM Layoffs in India and IBM's CEO Spins His Lack of Market Share as a Strength
If this leadership carries on, the only red left at IBM won't be Red Hat but a red stain
Links 15/12/2025: "Life in Prison" for Criticising China, Tikhanovskaya Says 'Pressure Works'
Links for the day
Due to 'Secure Boot' (An Anti-Security Measure, a Kill Switch) Computer Users Are Afraid of GNU/Linux
This is what Microsoft wanted
'Crypto' 'Currencies' Are a Ponzi Scheme. So Is "AI". Both Destroy the Planet, Not Just the Economy.
Believe it or not, millions of these GPUs just sit there boxed, unopened, unconnected, unused
The Register MS Has Just Been Paid to Promote the Ponzi Scheme Some More ("AI" Keyword Stuffing)
This won't end well for The Register MS
Microsoft Colonialism in Africa is Not Sustainable
Microsoft's situation in Nigeria is not
Perpetuating the Lie of "No Red Hat Layoffs" Because of the Bluewashing (Red Hat Became Just "IBM")
Many Red Hat employees were pushed out and/or removed lately
EPO People Power - Part XIII - If the EPO's Chief Propagandist (Berenguer) Told the Police He Was a Spanish Tourist (or Similar) or That He Does Not Reside in Munich, Then He May Have Lied to the Police (in Addition to Doing Cocaine in Public)
Lying to the police in Germany is a criminal offense
Links 15/12/2025: Chromebooks as Work Machines, "Americans [Who] Moved to Australia" to Avoid Cheeto
Links for the day
Breaking Your Proprietary Router in the Name of "Security"
Each time they "patch" the router something that previously worked OK is likely to just break
IBM May be Breaking the Law to Silence Staff It Laid Off
Observation to add regarding IBM layoffs
Demonisation Attacks on Richard Matthew Stallman (RMS) - Including Antisemitic Attacks - Have Not Worked
Name-calling doesn't work
Slop ("AI") Will Replace People and Take Away Jobs, Say the Slopfarms With Fake (LLM-Generated) Text and Slop Images
"AI" often means slave labour in a poor country
More Than a Million Bytes Should be Enough for Most Computer Programs
Who said computing would improve over time?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, December 14, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, December 14, 2025
Another "AI" (Slop) Use Cases Turns Out to be a Fraud
Those who talk about this fraud get SLAPPed
They Say Rules Are Made to be Broken, at Microsoft That Became an Imperative (e.g. Accounting Fraud, Bribery and So on)
Its biggest client is itself
In Russia, Microsoft is Already a Dying Breed Online
A lot of Europe also dumps Microsoft. Europe is a big revenue source of Microsoft.
The Future of News on the World Wide Web
No "greener pastures" on the Web
𝐈𝐁𝐌 𝐂𝐄𝐎 𝐀𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐊𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐧𝐚: Proof That at IBM People Fall Upwards
IBM is collapsing
EPO People Power - Part XII - The Mobbing Got So Bad People Were Unable to Work
What's at stake here isn't just the EPO or the patent system
Links 14/12/2025: "Chile to ban smartphones in classroom" and "Portugal updates cybercrime law to exempt security researchers"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 14/12/2025: "GUI TUI CLI" and EmacsConf 2025 Video
Links for the day
Links 14/12/2025: Tensions in Asia, US Making Deals With Belarus
Links for the day
A Utopian and Very Dumb Vision of Technology, Based on Accounting Fraud
the "industry" has become insane and a lot of "the media" is going along with it
Links 14/12/2025: "The Slop of Things to Come", Goldman Sachs Nervous About Slop Bubble
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, December 13, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, December 13, 2025