here is a paragraph from the microsoft 2004 annual report

[Jonathan Hutchins]

On Tuesday 26 October 2004 12:42 pm, D. Joe wrote:

> ... they screw-up [by] calling Linux an "operating system"
> rather than a kernel.

Linux is more than an Operating System or a Kernel.  It's a philosophy and for 
some people a lifestyle, maybe even a religion.

Seriously, when most people say "Linux" they mean the GNU Linux Suite with a 
FOSS GUI, desktop, and a load of useful software - in short, they mean a 
whole distro, not a kernel.

Also, I believe I've seen statistics that paid professional programmers, while 
only about 10% of the people actively working on Linux have contributed close 
to 90% of the adopted code in the past year.  (I know that's imprecise, it's 
in a LJ or LM article a few issues back.)