OSNews

When I hear claims like that it reminds me of the old adage, "don't count your chickens before they hatch". I'm hopeful for Linux to provide a viable desktop for the masses but at the same time I would sooner see the open source community take a constructive and step by step approach rather than a dash to the line only to find a whole heap of problems come back to haunt developers and end users.

I've just finished having a look at the latest OpenSolaris as well as looking at Ubuntu (looking forward to see Fedora released soon). I think the question isn't trying to marking down a hear but instead recognising that each year that comes along Linux and alternative operating systems step closer and closer to addressing the needs of end users.

Some end users can jump in today, some in 6 months, and others it might be in 2 or 3 years time. The difference between the commercial world and the opensource world - there is no mad dash to cram something out there to make a dollar. A slowly-slowly approach can be taken to ensure that decisions that are made aren't going to come back and haunt users and developers.

This is way-way off topic but I've just had a look at the OpenSolaris pre-loaded Toshiba laptops - and it'll be interesting to see what the open source world will look like in 1 1/2 to 2 years time when I look for new laptop.