2011 The Year of the Linux Desktop

I just installed MeeGo on my Netbook and next week I'll be at the MeeGo conference in Dublin

Doesn't someone say this every year? Yet Linux remains with <2% desktop marketshare.

I will admit that some distros, e.g. Ubuntu, are making it very easy for novices to get into the Linux world. What it doesn't have yet is wide app support.

Android will win more market share than Linux Desktop.

@eagle: bad video quality.

That's pretty cool. I've been meaning to play around with MeeGo myself.

Having watched the video, my thoughts?

I'm a bit surprised to see the "watch" style wait cursor here. This definately bring back my memories of old XWindow systems. The layout is so... errr... playful so I thought they would have chosen something else. That said, the outlook is still impressive. It's really not necessary to make a Linux distro look like Windows.

The partitioning steps look neat. But I'd rather have something like what be had with Redhat 6.x, There should be some hint text showing what is the recommanded/minimum size for each mount point. For example, I would have just put 120MB for /boot partition if no hint is shown that I'd need more space. (Remember, any extra unnecessary space be put into /boot partition is literally permanently lost. You'll want it to be a little bit more than "just enough". Usually I'll just rounded the double space occupied on a fresh install)

Mount the device? Word like this simply doesn't mix with the casual graphics and the background music.

The partitioning was different then anything I had seen before, MeeGo occupies three partitions.

Everything you need to know can be found at MeeGo

I booted the Windows 7 beta on this netbook and have asked the Windows Team to release Windows 7 on a USB stick, but they never did.

you dont need them to do anything to get win7 on a usb stick.. there are plenty of guides on the intertubes on how to install win7 from usb

@Charles:Would Open Source Netbook Light Operating System 2010 Ultimate Edition be better?  

 I think that there are only so many names to go around. Phil Haack has been talking lately about the challenges of naming a product.

@aL_: Yes, I know how to load Windows 7 on a USB, but ordinary humans don't and the MeeGo set-up is much easer.

1 day ago, spivonious wrote

Doesn't someone say this every year? Yet Linux remains with <2% desktop marketshare.

I will admit that some distros, e.g. Ubuntu, are making it very easy for novices to get into the Linux world. What it doesn't have yet is wide app support.

2011 - Year of the Linux Desktop

then comes

2012 - the year when everything ends.

which will finally make

2013 - the year of the paperless office !

Yea they all can come true  !

LOL

Look.  If all you use your computer for is web browsing and e-mail then some absolutely free-of-charge Linux distribution with a reasonble point-and-click user interface is a feasible alternative to Windows.  The problem, as it was during 1970s for mainframes, is that 3rd-party commercial software applications are practically non-existant except on the dominant platform:  IBM 360/IBM 370 back then, Windows today.  Adherents and partisans to the contrary notwithstanding, Unix is no great shakes except as a research platform.  With every device shoehorned into being some variation on a TTY, and for other reasons, Unix and its variations have no place as a commodity distribution for the masses.  In contrast, Apple designed their operating software for masses to be far more intuitive, obvious, and easy to use than Microsoft ever succeeded at doing with Windows.  Microsoft wants Windows to be all things to all people and fails, sometimes spectacularly, to please.

@earnshaw: The '70's are long gone, today we have AppUp

@eagle: Never heard of it.

Now you have @ZippyV:Woot!