Will Ubuntu/Linux overpower/overthrow Windows? Also questioning the way Ubuntu will grow.

I will stand on the edge here and say that for as long as Microsoft makes windows, Linux will never overpower it in the desktop/laptop market

Well Ubuntu is just a distribution of Linux. Linux is the actual Kernel itself that the different distribution use for their GUI . Personally, I think they can live along side Microsoft and Mac OSX as a equal operating system. Linux does have some good points as an open source operating system where you can access the actual source code depending on the Distribution like Ubuntu, Red hat, OpenSuse, Open Solaris, etc. Ubuntu turn around for a new release is about 6 months on average. Sometimes a little bit longer or shorter depending on what it is they are working on. I've been using Ubuntu personally on one desktop machine and a second hard drive that I switch out on a laptop for the last 5 years. There will always be a catch up on whats going on so for me to say that they are ramping up fast or slowly I cannot say.

It will always be an alternative to Windows or Mac OSX. Will it "take over" in popularity? Probably not. But I don't think that is what Linus had in mind for it. It's beauty is that it will always be there for people who wish to make it their OS, because they chose to make it theirs, not because someone else thought that is what they should be using.

From what I remember in reading about Linus Torvalds. Which I kind of agree with him on it. When he got his first computer way back in the 90's and he was in University. (Don't exactly quote me on this. I am trying to remember off hand about it and what I can recall about it.) He didn't really like the design or the way windows was at the time when it came with his computer. So the next best thing he was learning and like was the Unix environment. Back then even for me. I was using DOS back then so I kind of know what Linus was referring to. But the beauty that he has made with Linux itself is great.

No, Windows has been built up over a very long time and are way ahead in the market. Mac would overpower Windows before Ubuntu does.

Linux fills a different need than Mac. As Linux becomes better and more usable (as with Ubuntu), wise people make the change. Few go back. Linux could overtake Windows one day.

Nope, 90 percent of people really don't care what OS they are using. Linux is a great, but it lacks Dev support and isn't shipping with any pc's. If you want linux you have to go get it, and for most consumers they don't care.

As long as people are not open-minded and willing to try something new I don't think Ubuntu will ever outgrow Windows and besides the people who are not open-minded people who have no interest in computers just don't care which OS they are using

Linux has made big head way in the market , what you have to remember is Linux use to sell its self on speed more then anything it has been around almost longer then windows it took a while before linux got into GUI interface ..

even today when a lot of people think about linux they still picture the bash shell and command prompt and the lynx browser pine mail ..

if people want linux to make head way faster more should get into reconditioning and selling used computers lap tops with a flavor of linux installed there are many that are very well supported today and plenty of applications ported to make most anyone happy and they make great low cost network , and server machines for most businesses..

I doubt it. Not as long as there are people who will order a computer online or walk into a big box electronics store to obtain a computer. These are the people who could care less about Linux let alone know what it is.