Linux On The Desktop – Sooner Than You Think?

US As Longhorn falls short, Linux could step in 03/09/04

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Linux supporters believe there is a great opportunity for Linux to gain a market share due to the continued postponement and feature cutting of Microsofts next big OS. Longhorn has suffered from a series of delays and re-evaluated features due to the size and complexity of the project. Dr. Frederick Berenstein of Xandros Inc., is hoping that Linux can do more than just catch up with Windows. "It is understandable, given the complexity of Microsoft's vision of the new [WinFS] system that they chose to remove it from Longhorn until it is fully functional. The Linux community is aware of the direction Microsoft is taking and is planning to bring comparable pervasive search capabilities to the Linux desktop," This could make the audio workstation under Linux a more realistic proposition if the OS finds it’s way onto the desktop. Linux is prolific in the web serving world – many of the servers here at Sonicstate.com are powered by Linux, although it still is seen as the boffins choice due to the lack of GUI support for many applications. However, that’s not to say that the audio fraternity aren’t already using the Linux platform, Manifold Labs standalone VST player Plugzilla and Muse Research Receptor both use the Linux platform as a base for their dedicated audio hardware. There is also a healthy community of audio coders working on open source applications for audio at (see previous story)