A recent article by John C. Devorak, posted on Extreme Tech, has proclaimed the authors enthusiasm for the Ubuntu operating system. For those of you not indoctrinated, Ubuntu is a Linux distro that is currently heading up the push for Open Source on our desktops and servers. And, having been a part-time Linux user for years, its nice to see that the OS is getting some recognition from people who perhaps would not have even thought about writing about Linux before.
The article states that Linux has reached a “critical mass”, and that at this magic tilt in the scales, will suddenly be the push open source needs to be picked up by developers, and driver writers for good, giving Linux the complete support it needs to become adopted by everyone.
While this notion is laudable, I still cannot help feeling that the idea of a “critical mass” is a misnomer. Instead, I think that Linux is going to become popular in the way it has got to where it is today, inch by inch, netbook by netbook, PC by PC. From very humble beginnings, on the PCs of a few very savvy, and enthusiastic, users. It has grown almost unnoticed by many Windows bods, into a position where on the netbook, Linux was the only OS you could get. However, as soon as Microsoft got wind of this, XP started appearing on more and more netbooks, and the balance is now on Microsofts side.
This is no blow for Linux though, as who is going to get hurt? Unlike Microsoft, Open Source has no one depending on it to pay their mortgage. So it will take a back seat, quietly improving, getting slightly more exposure to the Windows users, and a bit more credit. Dell will sell a few more laptops with Ubuntu each time, and this is how it will continue, I hope, until Windows has some good competition.