This past week, I read an interesting blog post regarding Linux's future on the desktop. http://bit.ly/yoUqn  A keynote speaker at LinuxCon, openSUSE Community Manager Joe Brockmeier, used a musical analogy to portray his vision regarding mass adoption of the Linux desktop. 

He spoke in response to a statement from an IBM representative that 'Linux may not be viable on the desktop'. Brockmeier felt strongly that Linux`s biggest potential lies in moving from the server room to the desktop. He urged OEM's to offer more models pre-installed with Linux and to market these options more aggressively.

I strongly agree with his position. I previously wrote about my challenge to find a Dell that was compatible with Ubuntu, and am still waiting for the announcement of a desktop model. The link for the N series with Ubuntu leads to a dead page  http://bit.ly/mGSb6

As my work is entirely focused on the Linux desktop, it was somewhat disconcerting to hear a long time open source supporter such as IBM predict a slow death.  One of the points raised was the fact that currently Linux is generally obtained by downloading the software, which has its downfalls.  Some users are leary of software downloads due to possible virus infections, or they do not know how to burn an bootable ISO.  Also, in many parts of the world, internet is slow and costly so free software does not reach those communities that most stand to benefit from it.  To try and download a uncorrupted ISO over 2 days can be a challenge. 

Last week, a colleague of mine forwarded an email about the 'Freedom Toaster' project which was supported by the Shuttleworth Foundation. www.freedomtoaster.org/home The project has been around since 2004, and I am not sure from the website, how many countries or locations that toasters were deployed in.  Many of the open source advocates that I work with are faced with internet challenges and I think that this project could be a great solution to increasing the awareness and use of open source software in their communities.

The Freedom Toaster is a self-contained computer kiosk that allows anyone to burn open source software and operating systems onto blank CDs.  With a pre-loaded PC and a touch screen, the toaster can be customized with any OSS packages the operator chooses. It is a 'bring & burn'

Open source software has traditionally been available via download from the Internet or on pre-prepared CDs that are either handed out or bought. Free CDs are a good option, but they subtract from the choice so important to the open source software model. The end user has had no input as to what is on these pre-prepared CDs.

The Freedom Toaster solves these problems by allowing people to choose the software and operating systems that they want and burn them onto CDs, without the need for an Internet connection. In this way, The Freedom Toaster delivers open source software to people who would have otherwise not been able to acquire it.

Freedom Toasters are suitable for use by businesses, educational institutions, government departments, libraries and NGOs allowing them to accelerate their mandate of adopting Open Source.

On a closing note, a friend shared his insight regarding accessibilty to Linux.  In his experience, many people have tried Linux because they got a free CD in a IT magazine or someone gave them a disc.  Downloading and installing still seems to be a barrier.  He even mentioned that since MS Vista generally does not come with an install disc, people are frustrated when they need to re-install, because we are so used to CD media.  He agrees that Freedom Toasters help address the issue of accessibilty to Linux and Open Source.