It is standardized! The linux kernel is pretty much the same in all distros of the same architecture! The only differences are the apps they are boxed with and the window dressing! And because it is yours you can even make your own custom distro the way you like!
Exactly so. Moreover, I was very disappointed that the article author neglected to mention GNU. I know, I know, nobody knows or cares who Stallman is or did, but the fact is that there's another part of Linux OS -- utterly essential and without which the kernel and the apps are useless -- which is the GNU command set that everybody takes for granted.
Yes, all hail the Linux kernel and Linus. But he has always acknowledged that without the GNU tools and commands, a kernel is pretty much impossible to do anything with.
Yeah, the apps are nice for the desktop installations. I spend most of my work time with headless servers in datacenters, and work exclusively from a Bash shell, so those nice fancy GUI apps aren't in my environment. I use them at home on my personal systems, of course, and I do have one desktop environment for work use (gotta have a browser after all).
As for window dressing, I'm a Luddite who uses the plain, quiet, Gnome Flashback Metacity desktop. I don't play video games.
My personal favorite distros are Ubuntu and CentOS, but I guess that also makes me a Luddite, eh?