Some readers took issue with my reference to Linux on PCs as DOA (though, I should add, very respectfully – these open-source types certainly know how to conduct a civil conversation.)
Yes, it was flip, I admit it. But let’s face it: enterprise customers haven’t bitten, and enterprise is the real focus of the latest IBM push.
As several commenters usefully pointed out, though, there are other markets where the story could be different. Governments, particularly in Europe, have already taken a lead.
Much the most interesting question is how the new market for consumer netbooks develops. If this truly is the new market for low-priced portable computing then it’s a natural for open-source (issues of useability aside.)
One very encouraging sign today: Intel has apparently just placed a massive order for the Atom processors aimed at this new market. According to an analyst at Citigroup, the chip company has ordered 45m chip packages for the second half of this year, ten times as many as most analysts had expected. Even if part of this is to build inventory, it still indicates that Intel expects significant uptake of Atom-based netbooks (like the Asus EEE) in the second half of this year – and that should be fertile soil for Ubuntu and its rivals (it was enough to give Intel’s stock a 4 per cent bump today.)
As for Linux on enterprise PCs, though – the body will probably have to stay on ice a while longer.
