So after reading a blog or two today, I find the Linux Desktop is now dead.  Or so some writers pronounce.

We have a term for this kind of journalism - yellow.  Sensationalism to attract numbers.

I have been astounded lately, of the number of folks that I've met that have heard of Linux, and many that have tried it.  The largest difference, in the last year, is the number that have it in use on one or two of the household PCs.  And I'm not talking techno-geeks, I'm talking ordinary folks.  Many that I've run into are actually using all 3 major OS(s) Windows, Apple/Mac, and Linux!  Seems the end users aren't as techno unsavvy as most writers state.

I don't do IT work anymore.  Most of my contact with users is for the old helpdesk style "How do I..."  as in which application works best.  It's a strange moment or three for me to realize these users jump to the PC that is loaded with whateever OS runs the application they feel works best for them, everytime.

Then I sit back, and realize, so do I.  I use the fastest, most stable, easy to use Linux I can.  The one where everything just works.  Over the last 6 months or so, I have learned a lot, but mainly Debian, and it's offspring, often give me this result.  Very respectable performance from a machine well past its 3 year lifespan (my PC is just over 7 years old).

Dead, huh, hardly.  I do believe the more I show folks Linux, the Compix desktop,  awn and other similar desktop functional software packages, the more the tide moves.  Firefox is a great example, software that does what you want and provides functionality with ease of use will eventually be adopted.  Not denied, not dead, but alive and active!

ezsurfer