[coconutt2000]

I agree that Linux is most at home and the most feature complete as a server operating system.

And it will never be a fully polished desktop OS. Linux is developed by a lot of hobbyists. This means that it will always embrace the envelope of computing technology before the mainstream. If rocketry was cheaper, and certain limits set by the government were removed - civilian rocketry in our country would stand the world on its head with some very cool applications.

Linux will always be cool, but it isn't likely it will ever sit still long enough to become a mainstream desktop OS. Of course, we may be surprised by the adoption of Linux by a well funded company intent on turning it into a mainstream OS, and if everything I've seen is an indicator - I think it would be very profitable for a company that can use Apple's model of hardware and software synergy to add value and appeal.

[bigdcaldavis]

I figure one of the main reasons Linux isn't mainstream is because of all of the many Linux distributions in existence. I think that eventually one of the commercial Linux distro companies will attempt to buy the Linux source code from Torvalds and the Debian source code and then claim exclusive ownership of Debian and Linux (including past versions).

This is my personal opinion. If I had to choose between Xandros and Linspire to be the only Linux distro in town, I would choose Xandros in a heartbeat...my biggest fear is that if Xandros does indeed become the only Linux distro around, we'll start seeing security flaws in Xandros that will make it easy for hackers to compromise your Xandros systems. (I've always suspected that the government uses Microsoft Windows' security holes to spy on Windows users and view the contents of their hard drives.)

[bigdcaldavis]

There are efforts with the Debian-based distros to make a universal Debian system. It's called the "Debian Common Core Alliance". So if any Linux distribution goes mainstream, it will be a Debian-based distro. Right now Xandros and Ubuntu (and all Ubuntu derivatives such as Kubuntu) have the most buzz of the Debian-based distros. I predict Linspire will eventually be lost in the shuffle and fall so far behind that they will probably be sold to Xandros.