So, given that the vast majority of users don’t actually use an OS as anything more than a launchpad for their word processors, IM clients, games and web browsers, why has Linux failed to make any real impression in the desktop OS space? The problem, in a nut shell, is that the word processors, IM clients and games they use in Windows don’t run in Linux. Linux has failed on the desktop because it can’t be used to launch the applications everyday users are familiar with (and I don’t count Wine or its various commercial incarnations as suitable for everyday users). This is where technologies like Flash, HTML5 and ChromeOS and GeckoOS, and to a lesser extent the variety of tablets that are available today, are starting to level the playing field.
By: Matthew Casperson
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