The desktop is not going to disappear suddenly because there is a movement to include mobile devices. On the contrary, I see years in which a business will adopt a multitude of new devices, and the infrastructure needed to make them all work coherently.

I applaud Canonical for pushing Ubuntu beyond the desktop — up onto servers, and down onto mobile devices. But I’m starting to wonder: Can Ubuntu really gain traction on Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs)? Or put more bluntly: Does the world really need another mobile device operating system?

Users of the KDE desktop know it has a dozens of handy tools and functions built right in, but the beauty of open source means you can tweak it to your heart's content by adding extra plugins to make your desktop do even more. Here are five KDE desktop applications that you might not have ever heard of, but are definitely worth checking out.

While Linux desktop evangelists point to netbooks as an indication of renewed life in their chances to compete on the desktop, new data suggests that this may be a fool's hope. Instead, such advocates would do well to follow Canonical's and Red Hat's lead as they seek to move the desktop to the cloud.

Linux has made its way from the desktop to the server room, and now it is poised to take over mobile devices. In fact, by at least one report it already has. But as mobile developers are painfully aware, the mobile space is quite fragmented, and there are many versions of Linux to target. Which one is best for your project?

An increasing number of computer users are turning to online applications instead of ones on their desktop, With the emergence of online applications that have no desktop equivalent, and mobile devices that are browsers in your pocket, things are looking up. But what about free software?

Linux desktop distribution vendor Xandros and Web content management firm Viyya Technologies have announced they will jointly market integrated, Linux-based software for "netbook" and Mobile Internet Device (MID) devices. Meanwhile, Xandros has strengthened its collaboration with Microsoft on its mixed-environment BridgeWays management tools.

Does the true future of Linux on computing devices lie outside of desktop computers? It’s no secret that on the desktop Linux has held steady at only about one percent market share for many years, and that has caused many pundits to proclaim that it will never be a truly meaningful player.

The open-source Linux operating system is seeing major growth in the mobile and embedded space, especially in the smartphone market. Handset makers and mobile carriers are adopting open-source software because it significantly reduces licensing and development costs and also provides higher flexibility.