> I feel like Linux is a better contender now then it was in 2004. Or am I just in a "developers tech savvy world" and viewing linux as a viable contender now compared to the typical layman?
For the typical layman, what matters is mostly "can I get it and use it without thinking about it", which is, really, more about major vendor (both hardware and app developer) adoption than it is about substantive features. Insofar as Linux is a contender there, for the average individual user, its largely in the form of ChromeOS rather than traditional desktop linux distros, not because ChromeOS is more feature appropriate, but because of its backing.
There is a reason Microsoft is running negative ads about ChromeOS and not about, say, Ubuntu.
From a development perspective, Linux has been adequate as a main OS for a long-time, though better virtualization solutions make having to choose one OS full-time -- or use comparatively awkward dual-boot solutions -- less a reality.
For the typical layman, what matters is mostly "can I get it and use it without thinking about it", which is, really, more about major vendor (both hardware and app developer) adoption than it is about substantive features. Insofar as Linux is a contender there, for the average individual user, its largely in the form of ChromeOS rather than traditional desktop linux distros, not because ChromeOS is more feature appropriate, but because of its backing.
There is a reason Microsoft is running negative ads about ChromeOS and not about, say, Ubuntu.
From a development perspective, Linux has been adequate as a main OS for a long-time, though better virtualization solutions make having to choose one OS full-time -- or use comparatively awkward dual-boot solutions -- less a reality.