this post was submitted on 16 Mar 2026
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Linux
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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Twenty years ago, we were speculating whether open source browsers would survive or catch on.
Now there aren't any closed source browsers left.
Vendors will find other forms of lock in, anyway, of course.
But chrome, edge, and safari aren't open source to my knowledge and they make up almost the entire market. Sure chromium is open source, but that's not the entire browser. Not to mention, it's basically Internet Explorer all over again, but with Google behind the reigns.
Looking at android, we get a glimpse of what Google is willing to do to "open source" to keep control.