There is an old joke, popular among venture capitalists, that goes like this: Two guys are walking in the wilderness, when they spot a huge bear speeding toward them, gnashing its teeth. One of the guys pulls a pair of running shoes out of his backpack and starts putting them on.
? What are you doing? You can't outrun a bear, says the other guy.
I don't need to outrun the bear, comes the answer. I just need to outrun you.
That joke is about knowing precisely who the competition is. That's why I thought of it when I read Matt Asay's post from last year about Mark Shuttleworth identifying the Mac OS, and not Windows, as the desktop operating system to beat. Shuttleworth made comments to that effect in this Datamation interview, and I agree with him. It's right now, though, that we are really seeing the Linux desktop realize its potential, with the Mac OS still setting a good pace in the race.
