Linux poised for more growth when economy recovers, Mar 19, 2009

Factors ranging from netbooks to a new Linux OS kernel will spur more Linux ramp-ups when the recession lifts, a new study says.

There'll never be a year of desktop Linux for the ordinary user, because if an ordinary user notices that they are running a program or even an operating system, it has in some profound sense failed. But for people who like playing with their computers, desktop Linux is no longer a text adventure game, unless you want it to be. It is now an undemanding graphical adventure game.

The U.S. Constitution makes a point of guarding against tyranny through a series of checks and balances. The software market, it turns out, is no different. Or, rather, it could turn out to be that way. Windows has stood alone for more than a decade as the dominant operating system for personal computers, and it had a growing lock on the server too. But then Linux happened. Linux provides an effective check on Microsoft's ambitions to own the operating-system market. The question then becomes: how many Linux distributions is optimal for keeping Microsoft honest?

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