[ Thanks to Kelly
McNeill for this link. ]
The desktop, maintains this column, is only a secondary concern
for computing in the near future: embedded technology is on the
rise and if Linux can capture this market, other aspects of
computing will fall into line behind it.
“…There are a few lessons to be learned from the
mainframe story. If Linux developers choose to go head-to-head with
Microsoft in a desktop war, they will be allowing Microsoft to set
the agenda and choose the battleground.The fight will be long and bloody, and victory anything but
certain. But looking around, we can already see signs that the
desktop will be marginalized by newer, emergent technologies. More
computer power is being shipped embedded in appliances like
personal digital assistants (PDAs) and mobile phones than in PCs
nowadays, and the gap is accelerating.A rapidly growing array of appliances are coming to market with
embedded computing power.”