I'm not.

I'm not happy at all sitting at the kid's table.  But that's where I am.

And if you are a Linux user, you are too.  Bet you didn't know that didja?

Neither did I.  Until two weeks ago.

That's how long it's taken me to decide whether I'm going to even talk about this in public.  I decided that it's probably something you knew in your gut anyway.

Yeah many of you did.

I made a good friend at Google three years ago.  We became friends when I was offered an interview for a job there.  Fact is...I would have been this new friend's replacement.  He would have trained me in, if I was hired on.

In that I turned the offer down due to the commitment I now have really wasn't a surprise to many.  Friend was able to find work with Google in another city where his wife was being transferred so it all worked out in the end.

And I gained an extremely good friend.  He'll be reading this as soon as it's published.  I am sure he suspected it would be a topic for discussion.

Two weeks ago, Friend was in Texas and He drove down to see me.  We knocked back a few beers on some small patio bar in Round Rock.  When the subject turned to work, I knew Friend was in a position to answer a question for me.  It's probably something you knew in your gut anyway.

Yeah you did.

I asked him the question:

"Why does Google refuse to reference that Android or Chromebooks are Linux-based?"

He took a pull on his Shiner Bock and did something I didn't really expect.

He answered me.  And I'm not going to use quotes because I didn't write it down but this is awful close:

Because Linux Users can't be trusted to behave if they are taken out into public.

He went on to explain that the powers that be (of which he is not one but within that circle) simply don't want anything getting in the way of Google's march to their phone, tablet and computer market supremacy.  Their Chromebook slayed the numbers this Christmas season and many within the marketing effort at Google believe NOT associating their brand with Linux may have helped tremendously.

Is Linux mentioned anywhere in the Android Marketing?

No.

Is Linux mentioned anywhere in Chromebook Marketing?

No.

From our public infighting, to our fragmentation in distro and desktop wars, to our inability to even give decent application names to our programs.....

We act like a bunch of children fighting  over the drumstick at Thanksgiving.

In other words.

Let the grownups take care of business, and be quiet....don't make us stop this car.

And no, don't rage at me.  I wrestled with this for a couple of weeks, knowing it would piss some people off, but more importantly.....

It would validate what many of you already knew.

Many of the grownups just don't want to be seen in public with us.

Maybe not you, and I certainly hope not me, but still...

It is felt that Linux as a brand name is tainted, and for far more reasons than I mentioned above, but those are pretty much the heavy hitters.

If it makes you feel better to yell at me in the comments, go ahead.  I've pretty much accepted that it would happen anyway.

And by doing so....you fairly well prove Google's point.  See?  Sometimes, the grownups are right.

All-Righty Then