Desktop innovation? Future of the desktop?

[Richard Gaskin]

Peter Alcibiades wrote:

> There's real innovation, for better or worse, going on in Linux desktops in
> the last year or two.
...
> Gnome and KDE are a lot freer to take risks than either MS or Apple, and
> they are taking advantage of that.  I don't know that you would like the
> latest KDE, but its worth looking at as an example of innovation in this
> area.

I'll check it out.

I very much appreciate your participation here, as we have relatively 
few on this list who use Linux as extensively as you do.

Your note about their design freedom is a good one, and their 
willingness to explore new options for improving the desktop experience 
bodes well not only for Linux but the computing industry as a whole.

Within 10 years I see a world whose market share eliminates any single 
OS vendor holding a majority, instead becoming a plurality in which 
Apple, Microsoft, and Linux each enjoy about a third of the market. 
This would put Apple tripling its current share, with most of Linux's 
new users coming from the increasingly disenchanted MS base.

Innovations like the latest Gnome that favor simplicity will favor that 
trend.

--
  Richard Gaskin
  Fourth World
  Rev training and consulting: http://www.fourthworld.com
  Webzine for Rev developers: http://www.revjournal.com
  revJournal blog: http://revjournal.com/blog.irv