Before I said they technically are. But I'm going to exclude them because the way the operate is not the way the first GNU/Linux (yes GMU because that was before the alternatives to GNU) and other popular Linux Distros operate. It started with a clone of Unix by putting the Linux kernel and GNU together. And this is what actual Linux Distros look and work like though many have a GUI (Graphical User Interface) on top. Linux Distros run Linux programs natively. Android and ChromeOS do to some degree but they are not made in a way for the user to install Linux programs. They come with a few little Linux/Unix terminal programs hidden away and the user interface and general functionality doesn't mirror Unix much at all. Whereas real Linux Distros you can actually install Linux programs on natively out of the box. Run Linux/Unix commands out of the box. Totally different experience to use a real Linux Distro like Linux Mint, Ubuntu, Arch, Debian then ChromeOS or Android. So I'll from now on use the term Linux Distro and specify that I'm excluding Android and ChromeOS and this post explains why I'm excluding those other OSs and ones that are so deviant from OSs that are more similar to Unix like Linux Mint, Arch etc.
TLDR Android and ChromeOS are not a very close mirror to Unix, can't install Linux apps out of box, No Linux/Unix terminal out of box, not the same experience as Debian, Ubuntu, Arch, Linux Mint etc.
Comments
Displaying 1 of 1 comments ( View all | Add Comment )
Jacob Persico
I was just thinking how do you tell someone you mean a Linux Distro like Debian, Ubuntu, Arch etc and excluding Android and ChromeOS. Well what makes Android and ChromeOS different: They are the only two well known operating systems using a Linux kernel that DO NOT work like Unix from the experience of the user. Unix referring to the operating systems with the name Unix (not the standard). Although Android and ChromeOS are considered Unix-Like according to Wikipedia, unlike Ubuntu, Debian Arch etc they do not function like Unix from the user's perspective. Yes they probably do fit some definitions of Linux Distros but the massive deviation from a Unix experience when using them clearly separate them.
I realize it is not very common for people to focus so much on Linux Distros being clones of Unix (referring to the OS again not the standard) but that's what they are and why they were made. It is an important part of the history of Linux/GNU