Note: The Report's author Bart Decrem has updated the material from the original report \ue000 a year later (June 2004). The updated material appears in an article published in Queue \ue000 Magazine, May 2004, under the title \u201cDesktop Linux, Where Art Thou?\u201d. Copyright 2004, \ue000 Queue Magazine. A draft of the article (100K pdf file) is posted on the author's blog < \ue000

For several years now, many people involved with computing and the Internet have harbored hopes
that Linux might become a viable end-user operating system for a broad population. There has been
great frustration with problems and limitations of commercial offerings, especially to the extent that
the original goals of computers as tools of empowerment for individuals seem to have lost
momentum. In turn this frustration has fueled the wish for an alternative which could evolve
through the inclusive and open-ended dynamics of open source development.

At the same time, it is an undeniable truth that while Linux-based server software has matured to
become an integral and vital component of the global information infrastructure, as yet Linux on the
desktop has remained on the periphery. Recently, I initiated a project on behalf of OSAF to take a
careful look at the state of Linux on the desktop, and asked Bart Decrem to spearhead a short-term
research project to assess the current situation and trends.

As you can read, while we do not believe a revolution is in the offing, there is a great deal of good
news about what has already been accomplished, and even more about what is very likely going to be
happening with adoption of desktop Linux, especially considering the situation outside the U.S. A
further piece of good news is that, by and large, there do not appear to be intractable obstacles to the
continuing growth of adoption of Linux as an end-user OS.

Mitch Kapor,
Open Source Applications Foundation
July 10, 2003

Thanks to the numerous individuals who agreed to be interviewed as part of the research for this
document. Their insights and contributions have shaped this document, but the opinions expressed
here and any inaccuracies are of course the sole responsibility of the author.

Particular thanks go out to Waldo Bastian, Liu Bo, Jurgen Botz, Joseph Cheek, Danese Cooper, Laura DiDio, Matthias Ettrich, Nat Friedman, Dwight G., Jody Goldberg, Joseph Hill, Dan Kusnetzky, Dom Lachowicz, Havoc Pennington, Michael Robertson, Chris Schlaeger, James Stallings, Tony Stanco, Michael Tiemann, Seth Vidal, Luis Villa, Daniel Vogelheim, Jeremy White and Mitch Kapor and the Open Source Applications Foundation.