As a long time fan of the Linux desktop I was interested to see the the Linux desktop usage number for personal computers increase to over 1.02%. I suspect it’s partially fueled by the popularity of Linux netbooks from the Dell (who offers an Ubuntu option) and Asus (that’s uses a special version of Xandros Linux).

While there’s no one company behind Linux for personal computers, it’s significant that Linux just broke through to 1.02 percent market share for personal computers, the first time it has ever risen that high, according to data compiled by Net Applications. (Meanwhile, even in beta, Windows 7 continues its march, now hitting .25 percent market share.)

I spent a long time trying to convince myself and others that the future for the desktop was an option of Windows, Mac or Linux. I am less bullish then I once was and now I use both a Mac and a Linux laptop. I really like the Linux desktop for it’s stability and I like the virtual desktop environment afforded by windows managers for Linux and the flexibility to adapt the interface in general to your personal needs.

However, I think we will always struggle with Linux as a desktop operating system as long as application compatibility falters (I can’t open sophisticated Excel spreadsheets from colleagues) and hardware vendors don’t feel obligated to support Linux (My Verizon EVDO card takes extra configuration for it to work under Linux while it’s a snap to set-up on Mac OS X).

So why bother with a Linux desktop at all? Well I found when using my Asus N10 netbook that my battery life is much better under Linux and I feel like the operating system is much more responsive than when I run Windows XP (I downgraded from Vista to reduce the resource requirements improving speed and battery life).  My theory is that over time we will see the focus less on the desktop operating system and more on the avialability of hosted apps that run on them like Google Docs and Zoho. I think at that point the emphasis on the desktop operating system will be greatly diminished.

[Desktop Usage Numbers via Matt Asay]

Technorati Tags: compatibility, Desktop, EVDO, Google Docs, Linux, market share, Ubuntu, Windows, Zoho

This year’s MacWorld and CES seems to be a big let down when it comes to new gadgets. The Mac fan boys were crossing their fingers even though El Jobslimo wasn’t doing the keynote that Apple still might announce a new Mac tablet. Maybe they can get Dan Lyons next year. CES seemed to be a let down too, spewing a bunch of products but none that made me say, “Wow”.

I was secretly hoping that Plastic Logic would announce a new killer flexible eBook reader to rival the Amazon Kindle. However, none of these things came true so here’s four cool tech toys that are already available from your favorite tech toy store.

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Technorati Tags: Add new tag, Asus N10, CES, CradlePoiint CTR 500, EVDO, Macworld, Netgear 3G Wi-Fi Router, Plastic Logic, slingbox, Ubuntu, Western Digital ShareSpace

Starting in 2009 popular, autonomic configuration management tool, Cfengine will be commercially supported by a company formed by Cfengine author, Mark Burgess. Cfengine has a laundry list of brand names that are using their software –AT&T, Bloomberg, IBM, Nokia, and many more. I suspect that many of them would pay for commercial support:

Here’s the news from the newly formed Cfengine AS:

Following 5 years of research and development under the technical direction of its long time author Mark Burgess (a professor of Network and System Administration at Oslo University College), the recently formed support company Cfengine AS today released a major upgrade of the Open Source, self-repairing software cfengine based on its innovative Promise Theory technology.

Unlike would-be alternatives, cfengine is not about producing alarms and reports to notify about errors and misalignments in the Data Center: it is a fully self-repairing maintenance engine capable of fixing them without human intervention. Cfengine users know that systems are compliant and maintained even when humans are unavailable, because they have made all the important decisions in advance.

Cfengine is open-source (GPL) software for configuring, monitoring and autonomically maintaining computers. It’s been around for over 15 years and is pretty prevalent among Unix administrators with a lot of machines to manage.  The concept around CFengine involves having a centralized configuration that can propagate out to servers a common use would be to develop a template or set of templates that can be used to “build” a server.

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Technorati Tags: Cfengine, Configuration Management, JeOS, Open Source, Puppet, Red Hat, Reductive Labs, Systems Management, Thin Crust, Ubuntu

• openSUSE Spotlight » The most popular Linux desktop? The numbers might surprise you – Acccording to Joe: Xandros in about 4th place, but closing rapidly. Ubuntu, unfortunately, doesn’t track —but Mark Shuttleworth has been quoted a couple of times as saying that they have 6 million or 8 million users.
• Canonical makes Ubuntu Netbook Remix official at Computex – Engadget – Canonical has chosen Computex as the expo where it will officially showcase Ubuntu Netbook Remix. Hailed as a “reworked desktop image of Ubuntu built specifically for a new category of portable internet-centric devices
• Xandros Adopts Moblin for 25% Battery Boost on Netbooks – Xandros Works with Intel and Moblin to Bring Energy-efficient Internet Experience to Intel Atom Processor-based Netbooks
• Practical Technology » The most popular desktop Linux is… – Steven talks about Xandros place as one of the most popular Linux distributions.
• PC World – Desktop Linux Face-Off: Ubuntu 8.04 vs. Fedora 9 – Ubuntu takes the prize in this bake-off but Fedora still gets good reviews and shows improvement.
• Electronista | Eee Box leak: “finally” a Mac mini rival – Asus alternative to the Mac mini the Eee box running Linux is on its way.
• 5 Reasons Why Switching to Ubuntu is a Really Dumb Idea ~ Tackling Technology – Fve reasons why you should think carefully before even attempting to install Ubuntu. Fair points but I still think he skips over some of the advantages like cost, stability, and speed. I know my Ubuntu laptop is exceptional in these areas
• ZDnet: OpenSUSE 11 RC1: The Mercedes-Benz to Ubuntu’s Volkswagen - Jason Perlow’s assessment of the opneSUSE RC1 Many improvements in usability, performance and stability have been made, enough that OpenSUSE has won me back as an end-user. However, I would still say at this point in the distro’s evolution, it is not the Linux for the masses or even for the people. It remains true to its roots, which was and still is for power users with systems that can fully take advantage of everything it has to offer. If Ubuntu is a Volkswagen, then OpenSUSE is a Mercedes-Benz.

Technorati Tags: Add new tag, Asus Eee, Desktop, Linux, Open Source, OpenSUSE, Ubuntu, Xandros

There was a time when I thought the Linux desktop was going to take a market share at least equal to Apple’s. Maybe even 5% or 10% of the total desktop market. I had high hopes that the One Laptop Per Child Initiative would put Linux laptops in the hands of impressionable young minds who would never have the chance to become dependent on Windows. Though that plan has fallen through the cracks. I don’t hate Microsoft Windows I just don’t have a desire to see any operating system dominate the market in such a way that the lack of competition stifles innovation and forces users into an endless upgrade cycle, offering progressively smaller incremental value.

That’s why I like Linux as a desktop platform. For many years I was an advocate for using the Linux desktop, I even wrote a Windows to Linux migration book for business users. Though the time has yet to come for the widespread Linux desktop adoption. I have speculated in the past that Novell’s SUSE Linux Desktop or Ubuntu would see traction but as of late I think that even that prediction is off base. I think the companies that will break our addiction to Windows will not be neither of them. It will be Google and Amazon. Here’s why.

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Technorati Tags: amazon, Google, Microsoft Windows, Novell, OLPC, SUSE, Ubuntu