Happy New Year to you, too, Michael.
As for your question at the very end, I think that the "year of the Linux gaming desktop" will be somewhat of a catalyst for driving the critical mass adoption that is necessary for a takeover of the more sprawling desktop market. That's because most Windows-based home computers are used, at some point or another, for entertainment, and interactive games are a popular source of said entertainment. Most people are unwilling to give up any portion of the software they run in order to switch to a new OS, even if there are very noticeable benefits in other areas, such as stability, security, freedom, and price, and even if they fully appreciate those benefits. With the gaming piece of the pie slotting itself into Linux, there will be less need to run Windows for a lot of people. Steam is an important piece of the puzzle, but not the only piece; the combination of S2Games, Unigine, HIB 1&2 and the Source engine games will hopefully accrue enough highly-visible precedent to attract even more top-tier PC game developers to release for Linux as well.
Not sure if 2011 is the year, but it should certainly get us most of the way there, I hope.


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