Microsoft is working very hard on Windows 10 and it's banking everything on the success of this new operating system. This prompted some voices in the community that it's the end of the Linux desktop, whatever that means, but I'm here to tell you that's not really the case.

Every once in a while someone will come and say that the Linux desktop is doomed to fail, again. It never goes away and it's never in any real danger. The reason for this is very simple. Linux and Windows are never really in any kind of serious competition and they rarely address the same kind of users, so the overlap between the two worlds is really minimal.

The Linux-Windows conflict is just a perceived one, it's not actually real. The one thing that the two really have in common is the fact that both of them are operating systems, but that's pretty much it. It's true that the two worlds are mingling, but that is a rather recent occurrence and it doesn't really matter in the great scheme of things.

The final nails in the Linux coffin are not what they used to be

Microsoft just published a technical preview for the upcoming Windows 10 and it’s a good system, for a Windows one. There’s no disputing that and it's very likely that Microsoft will be able to strengthen its position on the market. The fact that it's offered as free upgrade for anyone who has anything above Windows 7, will also contribute to that.

This is where I have to tell you that it doesn't really matter and I even have the perfect example of this, Mac OS X. Apple did this a while ago and it didn't have any kind of impact. There was no uptake in users ready to buy a new Mac just because the OS was free to upgrade and the same will probably happen with Windows 10. More people will want to upgrade, that’s for sure, but in the end it's just another closed system.

Open source is all that matters

I said earlier that the fact that both of them are operating systems is the one thing that makes them similar, but the most important thing setting them apart is that one of them is open source and the other one isn't. I'll let you guess which one.

Open source is the cornerstone of Linux and it ensures that everyone participates in the development of the systems. You can't do that with Windows. It's a closed system controlled by one entity. You know almost nothing about the kernel, the vulnerabilities, the issues, the backdoors, and so on. It's the definition of a failed OS model.

Linux will have true competition only when Windows becomes open source

That is unlikely to happen. It will take more than just a technical preview of a closed system to put the final nails in the Linux coffin, whatever that means. What will happen when Windows 10 hits the stores? Will tens of thousands of Linux devs take a closer look at Windows 10 and just give up because the OS is much better than anything they might come up with?

If anything, Linux is the system that drives Microsoft to push Windows into new territories, like the addition of multiple desktops. If you come to thinks of it, Linux is probably one of the main innovation drivers for Windows, so the nails might be coming from the opposite direction.