Is Linux ready for the desktop? That's not a question I'm overhearing here at the Linux conference. Seems that Linspire 5.0 is “out,” and its UI appears to be vastly improved over earlier versions – my number one complaint with it. KDE still needs tweaking, but… that's not really any one company's fault. We've not really found as many pundits on the floor for which I had originally hoped. That said, I've had the chance to speak with Michael Robertson already, as well as Angelo Sotira. I believe we'll also get time with Dee-Ann LeBlanc, Vikram Dendi, and Doc Searls before the day is through. Any desire to hear from someone in the FireFox booth? I still think Mozilla (proper) is a better browser option. Then again, on Linux, there's no such thing as “Internet Explorer.” According to Linux.org…

Linux is an operating system that was initially created as a hobby by a young student, Linus Torvalds, at the University of Helsinki in Finland. Linus had an interest in Minix, a small UNIX system, and decided to develop a system that exceeded the Minix standards. He began his work in 1991 when he released version 0.02 and worked steadily until 1994 when version 1.0 of the Linux Kernel was released. The kernel, at the heart of all Linux systems, is developed and released under the GNU General Public License and its source code is freely available to everyone. It is this kernel that forms the base around which a Linux operating system is developed. There are now literally hundreds of companies and organizations and an equal number of individuals that have released their own versions of operating systems based on the Linux kernel. More information on the kernel can be found at our sister site, LinuxHQ and at the official Linux Kernel Archives. The current full-featured version is 2.6 (released December 2003) and development continues.

And one of these days, it'll organize itself into a true desktop market contender. Not yet…