this post was submitted on 12 Feb 2024
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Linux
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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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I think you are missing the nuance of the post. It isn't that users think numbers are inherently scary. It's that they think the number of versions available is scary because it lends itself to the belief that those versions are mutually incompatible. Add that to the fact that software installation instructions often provide different instructions to install on different versions of a distro, or articles have titles like "How to do ____ in Ubuntu 20.04" leaving users to wonder if it still works in later versions. Of course, the answer is usually "yes", but they won't know that off the bat, and the reason is the presence of the version number. Meanwhile, a guide will almost never have a title like "How to do _____ in Android 11". It will usually just say "Android".