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Comment by vander_elst | Hacker News Reader

Why isn't Chrome OS counted as Linux? It runs on a Linux kernel.

It is more the spirit of it and how it is used by the users rather than the technicality of it. I mean Android has a Linux kernel but it is not used in the same way as a desktop computer.

Android isn't there because it's a mobile operating system which is why it isn't there. Chrome OS is a desktop operating system built on top of Linux.

The idea that some of the Linux community has that anything that makes Linux actually user friendly or gives it wider appeal and gets popular no longer counts as "Linux" is a self defeating mindset.

Chrome OS is a desktop operating system built on top of Chrome, using the Linux kernel to jungle Chrome processes.

On some selected models, one is able to start a sandbox version of a GNU/Linux distribution, just like WSL on Windows.

Android Tablet with keyboard and mouse do provide a desktop experience, which doesn't matter for Linux desktop, as the userspace is Java/Kotlin, ISO C, ISO C++ and Android specific native APIs, zero POSIX.

Because the userspace is a browser, and only selected models expose a GNU/Linux experience, running on their own sandbox, WSL style.

Chrome OS "is" Linux, but it's like the Borg assimilating the good guys... It's a giant spyware machine reusing open source and doesn't feel "free as in Freedom" irrespective of the license details.

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