what counts as a distro

Linux is just a kernel in the same sense that a disto is just a package manager and an init system. Technically that's the case but colloquially a distro is any set of curated, pre-configured packages with an install script.

Chrome OS is 100% a distro by induction, because Gentoo is a distro and Chrome OS is based on Gentoo.

As for Android: I'd say it is a distro, but most people think of desktop or server OSs when they talk about distros these days. Obviously it's neither of these.

KDE Neon is a testing vehicle for new KDE software. The devs don't consider it a distro because it's not meant to distribute anything. It's for testing and they don't (have to) beyond that. So this has nothing to do with how this OS behaves, looks or whatever.

Idk I know they don't fit into the usual open source box of Linux but I'd consider Android and ChromeOS as Linux distros, a distro is just a collection of software distributed with the Linux kernel as far as I'm aware. If someone doesn't consider them "Linux distros" it's probably due to the proprietary nature of some of the software surrounding the kernel. No idea why kde thinks neon isnt a distro when it literally is.

Edit: in the case of chrome os it's not even just built around the kernel, it's based on a distro.

If it distributes Linux, it's a distro. Thus ChromeOS, Android, Windows are all Linux distros.

If you have a different definition, best you can do with it is go brighten up some lawyer's day, I guess.

My understanding is that is has to have a certain level of the GNU core utilities in combination with the Kernel but yeah not really, it's hard to define, maybe the use of a package manager? Definitely nothing to do with GUI, probably a philosophy in mind, not sure at all to be honest.

@joelfeila@lemmy.world chromeos is a distro and android is also a distro

The way I see it, a Linux distribution:

• Boots the Linux kernel
• Has open-source software at its core
• Provides an "easy bootstrap" system.
• Does not outright prevent modification of system software. (This excludes ChromeOS/Android)
  • This does not exclude immutable distros, as system software can still be modded as root).

To riff on "A language is just a dialect with a navy", I'd define it as "a distro is just a package manager with a LiveUSB image".

ChromeOS is not a GNU operating system, nor are many distributions of android. There are a lot of moving parts to an complete operating system. Even if Google uses a copylefted linux kernel and package manager Portage (GPLv2), they are still allowed to implement their own nonfree components to the OS such as a Google Chrome based desktop (Unlike with the GPLv3 which would force the entire OS to be copylefted).

Perhaps if ChromeOS were a free operating system (or at least something on par with Debian or Fedora's committment to libre software) this argument would be trivial and we would all be happy calling it Linux, but as it stands there is still a clear distinction between ChromeOS and GNU/Linux and it would be misleading not to point them out. Corporations deserve libre software (they are important contributors), but us users deserve it too.

... KDE Neon is an extension on an Ubuntu base with the latest KDE applications. Whether you call it a linux distribution or not is based on your preferences (and the maintainers). I would call it a GNU/Linux distribution since it provides an installer and live OS image that is based around libre software.

Does Android really even use the Linux Kernel anymore? I thought they forked it about 15 years ago and at this point it has diverged so much its not even really the Linux kernel anymore.

Relevant: https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/18/linux_desktop_debate/?td=rt-3a

Here's Wikipedia's article on the subject.