The subject of Linux on the desktop is always a sticky one. One reason is that many people believe that Linux just plain does not belong on the desktop — or at least on the mainstream desktop; they believe it will always be preferred as a server OS.
The subject of Linux on the desktop is always a sticky one. One reason is that many people believe that Linux just plain does not belong on the desktop — or at least on the mainstream desktop; they believe it will always be preferred as a server OS.
Then there are those who believe that Linux’s lack of success in the desktop market doesn’t matter, because the desktop is irrelevant. According to these people, Linux’s future lies with the next generation of handheld and various embedded devices that will be connected to the Internet.
And then there is the argument that having two feuding desktop standards, KDE and GNOME, makes it impossible for ISVs to port their applications to Linux. Until there is a single standard to write to, many ISVs would just as soon not bother with Linux’s still-tiny desktop market share.
The funny thing about all the pessimism regarding Linux on the desktop is that it contradicts why Linus created Linux in the first place. He wanted a Unix he could run on a desktop 386 machine, like the one he had at home.
It’s ironic that the very diversity and innovation inherent in the open source development model, the forces that led to the development of Linux in the first place, may also make it impossible for Linux to achieve critical mass on the commercial desktop.
Of course, it doesn’t have to be that way. There are lots of good ideas and great technologies…
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