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Wednesday, September 19, 2007

The overestimated Death of the Linux Desktop

For the last couple of days I've been reading about the so called Death of the Linux Desktop. What I cannot understand is, how so Linux desktop can be dead if it never existed?

For few years, we've been hearing all sorts of saying, that this year will be "the year of Linux on the Desktop", that this year, Linux will conquer desktop arena, etc. So if all that is true, wouldn't that mean that it is not on the desktop yet, and hence it cannot die?

That depends hugely on point of view. What would mean, that Linux is on a desktop? I use it. On the desktop. Does that count? Some people I know use it on laptops, servers, and even embedded devices. Does this count?

Yes. Everything does. The main point of these articles, debating on the death of desktop Linux, is to address the departure of one of the major desktop proponents within kernel developers. While great thing by its own, it doesn't yet encapsulate the whole desktop on Linux, isn't it?

I think that the most important thing is that work will be kept going on, improving things we have, inventing new ones and making everything better and better. And only after awhile, we would be able to look back on what we've done, what happened and decide: That was the year of Linux Desktop. That year it made it. And only if it won't be going well anymore, we'll say - Linux on Desktop is dead.

But until then - I think we should stop jumping to conclusions, and just keep doing what we do the best - the greatest software and the best communities.

Linux on the Desktop is yet to come.

-A.

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