Acer has already made official its intention to field an Android powered netbook in Q3 of 2009. Along with Acer will come more computer makers as firms try the alternative OS to reduce costs. Dell and HP are also both looking at selling Android powered netbooks.
The Wall Street Journal reports that analysts believe Android will slowly chip away at the dominance of Windows in the notebook and netbook market. Some also predict that Android will eventually turn up on desktop computers as well. With the backing of a major player like Google, Android is able to better draw attention and developers to its operating system than some of the other flavors of Linux.
Some of the Android usage agreements also allow the Google logo to be used; a netbook or notebook with a Google logo on it would be more recognizable to consumers than a notebook running another Linux variant like Ubuntu.
Research firm Gartner is expecting Linux (including Android) to grab 2% of the consumer market in 2010, up from an estimated 1.7% this year. Use of Linux is also expected to grow in the corporate market as well with a market share for Linux predicted to be 2.8% in 2010, up from 2.7% this year. At the same time, Windows’ market share is predicted to decline.
[via The Wall Street Journal]
If that wasn't funny enough... I really enjoyed this little diddy:
well i def would only want android if i could dual boot windows or another OS. It would get old not being able to have multiple windows open.
edit: Now I'll have to deal with Linux zealots wearing "ASK ME ABOUT ANDROID" t-shirts, which means I can't make my "he promised me $10 million!" joke anymore.
Example... Some sort of task bar for opened programs. While we're on it, definitely more than 6 at a time. Maybe use the current status bar at the top to list opened programs. Leave all the call features and integrate skype or something to seamlessly make calls directly from your computer, so no separate skype app. I dunno, there would have to be phone features pulled and computer features added. Major developers would get involved much more and I think it would take off like a wild fire. What 14 year old kid is going to be the next developer of Microsoft Office for Android? lol
edit: Now I'll have to deal with Linux zealots wearing "ASK ME ABOUT ANDROID" t-shirts, which means I can't make my "he promised me $10 million!" joke anymore.
Example... Some sort of task bar for opened programs. While we're on it, definitely more than 6 at a time. Maybe use the current status bar at the top to list opened programs. Leave all the call features and integrate skype or something to seamlessly make calls directly from your computer, so no separate skype app. I dunno, there would have to be phone features pulled and computer features added. Major developers would get involved much more and I think it would take off like a wild fire. What 14 year old kid is going to be the next developer of Microsoft Office for Android? lol
I disagreed with it when Google stated it themselves, and I would disagree with anyone who said it. For starters, Linux isn't an operating system. Linux is a kernel. The operating system that we sometimes refer to as Linux is actually GNU/Linux. "Linux" isn't really an operating system at all, but an operating system running a Linux kernel, which Android does.
Linux has become one of those generic words that people use to define an entire genre by one label. Other examples: Nintendo (mid-90s and prior), Google, Coke. There was a time when a lot of Genesis owners went to Wal-Mart to buy a new Nintendo game; Yahoo! Search fans ran off to Google something; and my favorite coke was a Dr. Pepper.
Android is very much Linux, just as TomTom and Tivo are Linux. The use of the gtk or qt toolkits doesn't make something Linux; nor do debs and rpms. The use of the Linux kernel is what makes something Linux, and from that standpoint, Android very much qualifies.