Intel: The year of the Linux desktop is here

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols | ZD Net | September 20, 2013

LinuxCon keynote sessions were kicked off by Intel Chief Linux and Open Source Technologist and Linux kernel developer Dirk Hohndel who said that client computing today is mostly Linux. Thanks to Android on smartphones and tablets, plus the rise of Chromebooks, Intel sees Linux as the leading end-user operating system.

...As Goldman Sach stated in December 2012, "It took a computer revolution to unseat Microsoft from its dominant market position." It was not that Linux-based Android or Apple ever managed to knock Windows off its desktop throne. They haven't. It was the smartphone and tablet rebellion which has unseated the desktop.

In his speech to top Linux engineers and developers, Hohndel said, "Outside of the community, most people don't see Linux's impact. Linux is usually invisible. When you go to any large Web site--Google, Facebook, Twitter--you're using Linux."

...In particular, when it comes to Chromebooks, Google and Intel are working closely on improving these lightweight laptops. The two companies "have seen Chromebooks race to a quarter of all computer sales and one fifth of all new PC school deployments."