Death of a Desktop OS

For many, the impending release of Vista is a time for contemplation on where the world of OS's are heading. Given that Microsoft, one of the world's largest companies in terms of market cap took more than 5 years to develop their next generation operating system, one would expect things to be more than a little stirred up. (Anyone remember Windows 95?). Instead, there will be no lineups, no anticipation, and perhaps only a handful of pre-orders. I speak from experience. I have been a Vista beta tester since it was first released to the uber-tech community. Vista is not groundbreaking, nor innovative - but the face of a dying giant. So should we be saddened by this? In a way, yes. Microsoft Windows helped launch the PC into the homes and workplaces of many. It's early years were an exciting time. Things seemed so energized. Windows was king. And then one day the US D.O.J. came knocking on Microsoft's door. From that moment on, things were never the same. The life was slowly sucked out of the company. People left the company. No one wanted to work for Microsoft. And today, not much has changed. With the imminent death of Microsoft as a viable, profitable public company, there must be a ray of light for those of us in the tech community. And that ray of light is open source OS's. Linux/Unix fans unite, for that light at the end of the tunnel is bright, very bright.