Linux in 2011
Looking back on 2010, I think that it was a good year for Linux. Now that 2010 is over, what does 2011 have in store for Linux?
Android:
Android really took off in 2010, and it’s going to continue it’s meteoric rise in 2011. It’s going to be hard to read technology news that’s not going to mention Android. We’re going to be seeing Android running on anything and everything, including possibly the kitchen sink.
Tablets:
Tablet’s are really going to come into their own. Apple started the ball rolling, but it was an anemic first try. Little better than a glorified phone with a big screen. They’re going to probably try to correct their mistakes with an iPad 2, but by the time they do, the market will be saturated with Android devices that are cheaper and more capable. Don’t expect it to change Apple’s marketing any though. They’ll still try to take credit for everything up to and including the air we breathe.
Wayland:
Look forward to seeing Wayland starting to appear on your Linux desktop. Ubuntu and Fedora are already officially heading that direction, so it’s looking like we’ll probably see other distributions head that way as well. I’m expecting Mint and SuSE are probably going that direction, though that’s not been announced by either.
Unity:
2011 will probably be the year for Unity. Right now, Unity exists in almost a pre-release form, but 2011 will be the year that it comes into it’s own. Now well it’s received will be something to see, but after using it for a while on my NetBook, I’ve grown pretty used to it, and am actually starting to really enjoy using it. There is still quite a lot of work to do on it, but given a year I think it will really be an interface to contend with.
Cloud:
The Cloud will continue to grow and flourish, and it’s well being can only be a good with for Linux. The more applications that move to the cloud, the less that are application specific, further weakening Microsoft’s hold on the market, and freeing people to move to a better OS. I’ve already written a full post on this, so I’m not going to spend more time on it here.
Looking back, 2010 really was a good year for Linux, but based on the things that I see coming at us in 2011, I’m expecting 2011 to be even more so.
So, with that in mind, let’s begin.
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