[Dominic Harr]

I think of it in terms of product life-cycle.

• In Linux's first incarnations, they focused on making a stable, quality kernal. They succeeded in spades.

• In the second incarnatin, they focused on making a stable, secure server and development OS. They succeeded in spades.

• Now, the Linux community is for the first time focused on making the best mass-market desktop OS around, with their eyes squarely set on the release of Longhorn as their 'deadline'.

Personally, I'd say it's a very courageous thing to bet against a community with that sort of track record.

For anyone who concludes that since Linux doesn't have the desktop today it never will, I can only shake my head and wonder.

Computing has only been a 'mass market' thing for what, at most ~5 years? It's a very immature market. Anyone who thinks the way it is now bears any resemblance to the way it will look as the market starts to mature sure doesn't have much of a sense of history, I think.

[Dominic Harr]

I was at a dinner party where the most fascinating debate came up:

Q: Is the Linux community the modern equivilant of "Galt's Gulch"?