[ Thanks to James
Maguire for this link. ]
“How many times have you heard this statement: “It’s
the year of the Linux desktop.” Not recently? Then how about “Linux
is making gains on the Windows desktop”? Still leaving a bad taste
in your mouth? Bet I know why.“For years, both the statements above have been over-used to the
point that either idea is now completely meaningless. Not due to
anything negative with the Linux desktop, mind you, rather due to
inherent differences in how Linux is marketed to the world, who its
intended audience is and whether mainstream adoption even matters
in the first place.“Let’s blame Linspire
“The idea behind the Linux distribution Linspire (aka Lindows)
was to create a competing desktop environment for PC users not
inclined to drop everything and move over to the Mac if they had a
distaste for Windows. On the surface, it was an interesting idea.
Unfortunately, at the time the Linux desktop technology of that era
was not ready for the target market Linspire was going after.”