Drew DeVaultIs there a good term which distinguishes a general-purpose OS (Unix, Windows, Plan 9, etc) from operating systems like Android, iOS, Windows RT, etc? The term "operating system" is being overloaded to ship systems which are really more of a graphical shell than a classical operating system. The moves to lock down operating systems, ostensibly made for "security" reasons but conveniently centralizing power and authority with the vendor at the same time, are being marketed to consumers as the same kind of product as a conventional operating system while in fact being profoundly different.
Doc Edward Morbius ⭕@sir Not as such.
Jonathan Zittrain and others have been talking about "generative computing", also "general purpose computing".
There's the "graphical shell" metaphor, as opposed to a command shell (e.g., Bourne/csh), or environments such as TSO/ISPF.
There's the "embedded device" notion, though that's usually even more restrictive than most mobile devices.
The notion of a walled "app store" model seems central to iOS and Android -- if you want software, you've got to go through the device's dedicated source (or expend much effort bypassing it).
The fact that most people really can't manage any computing complexity is an argument in favour. See #TyrannyOfTheMinimumViableUser
