Will The Linux Desktop Soon Be Irrelevant? Mar 18, 2010, 03 :03 UTC (4 Talkback[s]) (5176 reads) (Other stories by Christopher Smart)
"Some of us are still waiting for the year of the Linux desktop. Some think it’s already here. One thing is certain however, Linux does not have a majority desktop market share. By the time we get there, perhaps the entire idea of what a Desktop is will have been re-defined, thanks to “The Cloud”.
"...OK, so we’re not there yet, but think about this - how many people actually use an email client on their home computer? I honestly don’t know the figures (and I’m sure it’s still a lot), but the last time I used one was about 5 years ago and even then it was Mutt via SSH to my local mail server. Could we expect to see email clients dropped from default Linux installations over time? Heck, Ubuntu even got rid of GIMP because it’s not cool.
"“The Cloud” reminds me of “.NET” and “Web 2.0″ where no-one really knew what they meant at the time. Distributed computing has been around much longer than this idea of “the cloud” which sounds like some new fancy, happy place. All that doesn’t matter though, things are going to the cloud, a place where all your dreams can come true. Or where anyone can steal your information. Well, I’m sure it’s one of those anyway."
