[silk] a "big step" for linux?

[Giancarlo Livraghi]

I have deliberately waited some months before raising this subject 
because I wanted to be "reasonably sure" to know what I am talking 
about. But I am more and more convinced that something quite relevant 
has happened.

I have been using linux for "only" five years (currently ubuntu 9.10). 
Quite happy with it, except for the difficulties in managing the 
software for people (like me) who are not familiar enough with unix 
codes. (And a few bugs in openoffice that aren't yet completely solved).

I leave it to technology experts to decide if the "big change" was in 
April 2009 with Ubuntu release 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope or in October with 
9.10 Karmic Koala (we shall see what will happen with 10.04 Lucid Lynx 
in April 2010). And how much of this is due to specific releases or a 
more general improvement of linux (or broadly opensource) as a whole.

The fact, as I understand it, is that unix has existed for forty years, 
linux for twenty, but they were "for the experts". Now it's easy for 
everybody. And that is a *big* change. Strangely enough, nobody 
(including penguin advocates) seems to have noticed how important this 
can be.

Any comments?

(Irony is well accepted, and of course I stand to be corrected. But no 
flames, please).

Cheers

Giancarlo