The year of the Linux desktop has finally arrived
While Windows advocates may smirk and say here we go again, as 2007 draws to a close I get the strong feeling that we may look back upon this year and recognize it with hindsight as the year that the Linux desktop finally arrived. There are a number of events that point to 2007 as being the turning point for Linux and it all started in January with the release of Windows Vista.
Those of us who attended the Vista media launches were all given boxed copies of the top of the range Vista and Office 2007 Ultimate software suites. At the launch, I felt from the outset that Vista was nothing more than a bloated and less stable version of XP that required new hardware, while Office 2007 provided nothing new that I needed and took away of the familiarity of the classic menu system. Yet if I were to pay for the boxed Ultimate versions of Vista and Office 2007, it would have cost me more than AUD$1900.
As the reports started filtering in from system builders and users of the disappointment that Vista was, other reports started making their way into the tech press of the new distro of choice for many desktop users, Ubuntu. There was a feeling among many users that Ubuntu provided the best opportunity to break the vice-like grip of Windows on the desktop market.
Even though Ubuntu release 7.04 (Feisty Fawn) wasn't quite there yet, PC maker Dell picked up on user sentiment through its new IdeaStorm blog and announced that it would make a range of pre-installed Ubuntu desktops and notebooks.
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Not yet...But on the right path.
There's still the need to solve a few issues.
(1) Application compatibility with Windows apps.
=> Get those Windows apps that everyone needs to use, working seamlessly on Linux. It'll kill the need for Windows. We're talking games, apps like Quicken, Solidworks, etc.
Or provide opensource alternatives that can read and convert proprietary crap into open standards without issues. (I think the latter approach is better for non-gaming apps...Reversing and re-implementing someone's format would be easier than to re-engineer Windows APIs!)
(2) Document compatibility.
=> See the 2nd paragraph of (1)
(3) Its about the litte things.
=> Granted, we'll never be polished as proprietary solutions, but we can address the little things that has made Apple's OSX so well liked.
We shouldn't copy others on a 1-to-1 basis, but to improve and come up with a different, and possibly a better approach. We can explore idea, can we not? There's a difference between a clone and an alternative.
The thing is, there is no defined line of when something is suitable for the "desktop". Its a large grey area as everyone has slightly different interpretations on what a desktop is.
To say "year of the Linux desktop" now is doing nothing more than to attract attention. ie: "Hey everybody! Look at me!" (Which I suspect is what the author is trying to do).
The Linux desktop will be ready when its ready. For now, there is much work to be done. Just be patient and enjoy the journey.