In this interview at Linux and Main, the founder of the Enlightenment project, Carsten Haitzler — aka 'The Rasterman' — discusses the future of Linux, and suggests that Linux will emerge in the 'embedded space' . . .

” . . . LaM: Where do you think the future lies for desktop Linux?”

“R: Not on the desktop. Not on the PC. Not on anything that resembles what you call the desktop. Windows has won. Face it. The market is not driven by a technically superior kernel, or an OS that avoids its crashes a few times a day. Users don't (mostly) care. They just reboot and get on with it. They want apps. If the apps they want and like aren't there, it's a lose-lose. Windows has the apps. Linux does not. Its life on the desktop is limited to nice areas (video production, though Mac is very strong and with a UNIX core now will probably end up ruling the roost). The only place you are likely to see Linux is the embedded space. Purpose-built devices to do a few things well. There is no encumbent app space to catch up with as a lot of the apps are custom written. It's still a mostly level playing field. This is where the strengths of Linux can help make it shine.”

“LaM: Where do you think the future ought to lie for desktop Linux?”

“R: There is none. The future for Linux for anything that isn't a headless server in a back room tirelessly serving out data and services all day long is on the device market, from PDA to phone to watch . . . “

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