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“Year of Linux”, Fact or Fiction?

Every year, some technical blogger decides that the next year will be the “Year of Linux,” and essentially claim that Microsoft will watch their baby die within that year. I hate to break it to all the bloggers out there and their readers, but that will probably never be the case. While Microsoft may not always be the most powerful software company in the world, there will always be a place for large proprietary software companies to unite the whole world under one easy system.

People do not like change. Both Windows and Apple have profited from this fact. Let’s take a look at Windows throughout the years.

Does this look familiar? It should. This is the Windows 95 desktop. This was the first time that Microsoft offered the Modern Windows theme with the start bar on the bottom of the screen. Since then, not much has changed. Sure, the briefcase has been changed to “My Documents,” everything looks shinier, and you get a nice background picture now, but take a look at the Windows Vista screen:

For the most part, everything is the same. The start button (while it doesn’t say start anymore) is still in the same place, and you still have icons on the desktop. There have been a few things added, but it’s basically the same. Most people want that familiarity.Does Linux do this? Well, just do a quick Google search for Linux desktop, click on the images button and find out, or since I’m a nice guy, I’ll supply the link to that:

Google Images Search of “Linux desktop”

You can’t find one similar desktop on the first page. Some look like Windows, and some look like OSX. Some have a dock, some have a start menu, some have both, and some have stuff that isn’t on either.

The point is, that Linux attracts a completely different crowd than does Windows or OSX. If you look at the users of Linux, they are mostly people that value ultimate customization. This is the reason that there are so many different “flavors” or distributions of Linux. This is also the reason that many hardware manufacturers use Linux to run their proprietary systems. Under Linux, your skills and imagination are your only limits to what you can do with the system.

So, in reality, every year for the past five years or so has been the “Year of Linux,” not because it has taken over market share in the desktop market, but because it is now being used in printers and routers, on web servers and super computers. Many of the markets that Linux is prominent in are those for which Windows never made applications. Others are markets where administrators require a great deal of customization. Will we see increased uses for Linux in 2009? Absolutely, but I doubt it’s going to take over the world.