The 2008 Linux and Free Software Timeline 133
diegocgteleline.es writes "Here is LWN's eleventh annual timeline of significant events in the Linux and free software world for the year. As always, 2008 proved to be an interesting year, with great progress in useful software that made our systems better. Of course, there were some of the usual conflicts — patent woes, project politics, and arguments over freedom — but overall, the pace of free software progress stayed on its upwardly increasing trend. 2008 was a year that saw the end of SCO — or not — the rise of Linux-based 'netbooks,' multiple excellent distribution releases, more phones and embedded devices based on Linux, as well as major releases of software we will be using for years (X.org, Python, KDE, ...)."
Re:2009 (Score:5, Insightful)
You don't use Windows to stop Linux from being windows?
If you were to go merely by looks, Windows 7 is now practically identical to KDE4 interface. In fact they are so frightfully similar, you'd get the impression that they have same GUI developers.
On the positive side, if they looked alike, people would have no problem transitioning to the *nix+KDE side
Re:linux kernel: a year of standing still? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:most exciting thing for me: Wine 1.0 (Score:1, Insightful)
It's a shame that Linux distros don't take wine seriously.
On desktop distros, wine should be installed by default so that installing a windows game is as easy as in windows (run setup.exe automatically - or at least ask the user, etc).
And it's not impossible to have a database of "hacks" which automatically detects (hashes, file names) which game is being loaded, and applies automatically the required hack.
Re:2009 (Score:4, Insightful)
Why do you care about a native client so much?
Having a native client doesn't make it better, in fact it'd probably be worse because it would be a crappy port of the windows version.
If this mythical port existed then running the windows client via WINE would most likely be better because WINE is very strictly tested where as a developer doing a crappy port wouldn't take as much care. The Linux client would also most likely lag behind the windows version.
Re:most exciting thing for me: Wine 1.0 (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:2009 (Score:4, Insightful)
1999 was the year of Linux on my desktop. And 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, to infinity and beyond.
You got modded as funny because people who were raised on Microsoft desktops just can't imagine anything else. But remember that Linux doesn't have to destroy Microsoft to win. Linux just has to even the playing field, something that is occurring slowly but steadily. The moment that Microsoft loses its ability to dictate something because Linux provides an alternative, Microsoft has lost something. Over time, those little losses add up.