When will the Operating System not matter?

There are all kinds of computer users. On one end of the spectrum, there are folks that just want their MySpace and iTunes, and on the other end there are folks like me who really dig computers - they are a hobby, they are (possibly) a career, and most importantly they are a passion.

Even in the latter category there is often division. You will run into “Computer Guys” who define themselves as “Mac Guys”, or “PC/MS/Windows Guys” or “Linux/UNIX Guys” (or Gals in all 3 cases ).

I just enjoy computers. I enjoy interacting with a machine and making it do something, and I enjoy exploring different systems to see what makes them work, and learning how to make different systems interact with each other. I do enjoy the Linux experience more simply because I can be involved in it. I can test new stuff, file bug reports, send the developer of an application an e-mail, communicate with other Linux users on mailing lists, web forums and IRC chat-rooms. I can help a new Linux user get started, or help an experienced user figure out that really weird error they’re getting. This part of it is the “hobby” for me. Recently I’ve also been getting interested in OpenSolaris, running it in a Virtual Machine. It looks really interesting, and like Linux is an open community and I’m very interested to see where it goes in the future. In short, I simply like the Open Source way of doing things. You can see what’s under the hood, and a community of people, who likely have never met in person can collaborate over the Internet and create something that is used and enjoyed by millions of people (apparently the number of Ubuntu users has now risen to 8 million and growing).

I am blessed to be able to use all three major “desktop platforms” every day. I have my “Home-Grown” Ubuntu desktop at home, my Dell Precision Workstation running Vista at work and I have a MacBook Pro that I’m able to use as well. The odd thing is, between all three Operating Systems, as different (or similar) as they may be, I can use many of the same applications. For example, on all three machines I have OpenOffice.org, Firefox, VirtualBox, GIMP, VIM, and probably something obvious I’m forgetting. There is also the aspect of “Cloud Computing”, and I use Gmail.com for my email and Google Reader to manage my RSS feeds and this very blog is hosted on WordPress.com, which in turn uses Amazon S3 to host media. It seems every day we are getting to the point to where it will not matter what Operating System you are using. What will matter most are the applications installed (or better yet, if it has internet access), and many of those applications, thanks to the Open Source community will be the very same Applications across all of the platforms. I haven’t even touched on the mega-smartphone craze! Man the iPhone and T-Mobile G1 “Google Phone” can in effect be computers in themselves!

Yet another open source project, WINE breaks those barriers down even further by allowing Windows applications to run on Linux/UNIX and even the Mac. Also, all three of the major desktop virtualization applications (VMware Workstation/Fusion, Parallels Desktop and VirtualBox) allow some sort of “unity” or “seamless” mode where the applications virutalized in the VM can be integrated directly onto the host machine’s desktop.

At work, I’m in the middle of a new Citrix XenApp deployment which will allow my Mac using remote employee the same access to the same proprietary Windows applications as his Windows using colleague. I could also fire up a Linux desktop, install the Citrix client, and again access the same applications.

Every year someone predicts “This will be the year of Linux on the Desktop”. Well, every year that hasn’t come to be, but since Dell first started offering Ubuntu systems pre-installed on their website, it’s been getting closer. The “netbook” craze has helped expose Linux to many people who have never heard of Linux (and many that still don’t even know they are running Linux). Lenovo was offering Thinkpads with Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop pre-installed, and Dell offers Precision Workstations with Red Hat Enterprise Linux as well. Wal-Mart has even made a couple of attempts at Linux Powered Desktops. Linux on the desktop is going strong, slowly but surely, but what I’m really waiting for is “The year of Open Source on the Desktop”, and the day that the OS no longer matters!