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All fair points, but it depends on how you determine success. If you measure Linux-based OS'es penetration in the mobile market today, you will find that it 's the biggest player. That's success. Yes, you have problems with locked bootloaders and closed hardware on some phones, American carrier-phones in particular. This is bad, but no fault of Android. That most software on Android, a Linux-distro, may be closed source may sadden a FOSS proponent, but it still doesn't mean it's not Linux. On my Android tablet I can fire up a terminal, hook up a keyboard via USB and then hack away in a Linux userland, using either supplied binaries, or busybox, or other Linux binaries compiled for the ARM architecture. And it will all work. For lots of tasks where in the past I would need a PC, I no longer do. Because my Linux-based, mobile platform has me covered. If I want to build my own stuff, I can actually use the normal Linux toolchain to do so. I can do all that because Android, either you appreciate it or not, is Linux. There is no debating that. And right now Android is dominating the mobile space. I think it's fair to say that Linux, in a form you appreciate or not, has succeeded where your traditional DE based Linux-environment has not. |