John L Fjellstad <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > Is there a semantic difference between being like something or a > clone of something, and being that thing in the English language? > > I'm just thinking of the statement, GNU's Not Unix. Does that mean > that GNU/Linux is a OS with unix like functionality, kinda like > Windows with Service For Unix, or OS/2 with its POSIX layer, or is > GNU/Linux an unix. > > Kinda like, Kleenex is both a brand of tissue and the generic name for > tissues. Is the same true for unix?
The name Unix is registered trademark in the US and probably also in many other countries. This means that it is not automatically legal to refer to an operative system as a Unix while trying to sell it in the US. This trademark is the reason why the term Unix is not used to describe Linux distributions. I believe that Linux is as similar to the average Unix system, as the average Unix system is similar to other Unix systems. Niels PS: I hope to be corrected if I have misunderstood. -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]