I think the problem is that some Linux detractors do not realize that there are two seperate standards of success (as mentioned on the Google+ discussion). There is the business standard, and there is the community standard.
Linux doesn't need to be a threat to Apple/Microsoft in order to be a success. That is an artificial bar that some people seem to have become obsessed with.
I agree, I often get criticised for running a Linux desktop by Windows and Mac people because "nobody uses that apart from geeks lol". Well I'm a geek and I use it because it's the best system for what I do (writing Linux hosted server side stuff) so why do I care what the rest of the market is doing?
I guess there is some merit to this argument in the sense that if Linux was the defacto standard on the desktop I wouldn't have to maintain a dual boot. On the other hand I quite like using a niche OS because it means that I'm not a target for malware/shovelware/adware vendors.
""nobody uses that apart from geeks lol". Well I'm a geek"
Exactly. I cannot count the number of times I have had the discussion: "You should use [MacOSX/Windows].", "Why?", "My grandmother can use [MacOSX/Windows] all by herself."
It is hard to physically restrain myself when people think that is an insightful thing to say.
Same thing here. I get the "why dont you like/use a Mac/iPad?" quite often these days, which is seriously annoying when coming from non-tech litterate people.
I agree -- its even stranger when you consider that the commercial success that Linux has had on the server side doesn't really impact Microsoft. Linux killed commercial UNIX.
Linux doesn't need to be a threat to Apple/Microsoft in order to be a success. That is an artificial bar that some people seem to have become obsessed with.