I run Linux at work - and here is what I would classify as my Pro Applications:

Emacs
Eclipse
Codeblocks
GCC suite
Python
Perl
Bash
Open Office

I can also handle email from my Android based phone.

Our servers are also running Linux.

Therefore the argument that Linux can't get real work done is silly to the point of absurdity.

/agreed Mr. Torvalds is not the problem - if anything, he has held Linux together under outrageous intrusions from application space.

I perceive what is happening as signaling a sea change. Comercial interests (Redhat, Canonical, etc) see now as the time to push their agendas - if they control something - then they can control it's evolution. However, they are forgetting one thing: linux users want results. It is plain to me that most of these large distros don't give a rat's patootie about the average user.

I think the time is ripe for new distros to emerge - and if they address a number of key issues for the users they can cause the big boys problems they may be institutionally incapable of resolving. Time for a shake-up in the Linux space.

I think you're lumping everyone into the same boat. I love Linux - but not really happy with the way most of the UIs on top of it are going. I also am not a fan of Windows. I also have Macs - and OSX's UI is close - but I'm not really happy about the iron-fist Apple has over it (e.g. I would prefer to hover my mouse pointer and have the window become active - but not bring to front - like I've done with every Unix/Linux system I've ever used).

I've finally come to the conclusion that the only solution for me is to build my own distribution that has all the best parts that I do like - and some things that I want that no distro has today.

I'm not broken - I'm just hard to satisfy. Of course, that is what leads to innovation. I guess the difference is, don't just sit there and complain about it - do something about it!

PC roles that other devices can't currently do:

Cost effective software development/compilation *check*
Cost effective scientific computing *check*
Hard core simulation/gaming (high fidelity/realistic MMO Combat/FPS, flight simulation, etc - where you need more commands than are available on a common game controller - and where the graphics go beyond anything a game console can currently deal with while also providing large maps and large user bases sharing the same spaces) *check*

Can other devices do these things - yes if COST or other limiting factors are not an issue for you (Angry Birds on tablets, or console versions of various FPS titles are not at all comparable to a complex 3D simulation on a dedicated general purpose PC in any way shape or form). For those of us without a silver spoon in his/her mouth - that is not an option.

For most of us - buying a server grade system at $5000+ to do hobby coding isn't worth it - nor is springing for an equivalent cloud based VM to do the same. If it is over $1000 USD over the course of several years, it is too much.

Lumping desktop/server PCs in with laptops is not useful - laptops are not meant to run 24/7 and have automation for doing infrastructure things - like nightly builds, automatic updates for repositories, or other automation (spidering etc). Laptops are made to be mobile, and don't make good servers due to constraints placed on energy consumption and processing power. As for other devices - due to DMCA regulations - there are no legal means of turning them into general purpose devices any longer. That only leaves the PC as the bastion of general purpose computing.

Too many people don't realize what they would be giving up if cheap PCs are not available - they will be limiting the options of small developers (who historically generate more creative output - and the next big thing [e.g. Linux wouldn't exist if Linus didn't have access to a general purpose PC]) while strengthening the strangle hold large companies have over software development (app stores barriers to entry).

I wonder what RMS would do?

The 'reality' that surrounds us is taken in through the limited senses we have (we frail creatures, can't even see radar or thermal emissions) - and registered in our consciousness inside our brain, perhaps without full fidelity at all times.

Therefore, everything we perceive as 'reality' could arguably be unreal when compared to video of the same senses. Imagination has a strong influence on what we perceive (ask 10 different witnesses to a crime to report what they saw, and you'll get 10 different realities - even though they were observing the same event), as well as conditions that trick our senses (mirages and slight of hand).

Is cyberspace real? As real as anything else we take in through our senses, and think we know about the world around us.

Computer networks are not just about communications - like radio or telephone systems - but the computers in that network allow for persistence within the confines of unique addresses on the packet switched network. Persistence allows the formation of virtual spaces at these network locations - that can be as simple as a threaded message board, where conversations can form a complex web of shared history and culture, to more complex forms including 3D multimedia simulations that mimic space as perceived by humans in the 'real' world - in both places were multiple participants can form community. To the participants in these virtual spaces - it holds as much importance as other spaces within their lives - perhaps more so with the demise of the public spaces - the local bars, parks and so on that formed a 'third space' (first being home, and second being work) who's easy access was lost with the advent of suburbs and the fast food drive-through (borrowing heavily from ideas put down in Howard Rheingold's "The Virtual Community - Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier").

These virtual spaces allow people to quickly find like minded people, form alliances, and get things done. These spaces have significance - they can spill over into the real world - such as the 'Arab Spring', and change the face of countries and the world. They can also be misused and lead to group-think, and victimization of its members (ask Mante Teo about that - or your local Troll).

The value of cyberspace outweighs the desire of lawyers, regulators and governments to find simple answers to complex issues.

The more code you can see, and the better you can see it will translate into more productivity.

I imagine all your workers running 13" monitors - with coke-bottle thick glasses - cursing you behind your back. Cheap charlie1!!!

Paper is dead in my home office. Wish it was at work too.

Otherwise - I like to make whatever I am looking at available on all devices (pads, laptop, etc).

I use a 46" HD LCD TV as my monitor. It is superior to multiple monitors as I can have up to 3 full size pages available for reference/working at the same time - landscape or portrait too. Additionally it has a high refresh rate - so I also use it for gaming....best of both worlds.

At the time I spent about $600 on it. I think they are even cheaper these days (this was like 2 years ago). Worth every penny.

If you wear glasses - even more of a reason not to skimp on your monitor.

Looks up from editing his open office document, and thumbs nose in general direction of MS Office 2013...

'General purpose computer' is the key statement there. General purpose implies programable BY THE USER.

By that definition, barriers of entry to do IOS programming (cost to gain access to deploy your work on the device) would imply they are NOT PCs - and proprietary game consoles would also fall into that area. While programable - you can't program them in practice.

Android devices are programable by the end user (download SDK and go - no barriers to entry - in fact there is an SDK you can load on the device itself and do all your development there - not that I would want to without a bluetooth keyboard etc - but you could), so I would say they could perform all the functions of a PC out of the box.

Here is a better idea: why choose? Why not build a virtual machine for Gnome that people can use thier language of choice to cross compile to? Too much is tied up in all-or-nothing solutions, when given processing power today, more creative solutions offer themselves...

On the other hand (at a different level of abstraction) you could build your own python to javascript code translator (or cross compiler if JS has a virtual machine you can build bytecode for...does it?)

If coding JS hurts too much - there are ways to get around it (or at least minimize the need to do it).

"Join the 'Open Backbone'(c) movement at 'openbackbone.org'"

I've got dibs on the name for my new nonprofit!

The key problem: assuming that everyone on a team of programmers will have the wherewithall to write non-messy code.

Murphy's Law, combined with a gaggle of people working on a project obviates your statement.

I started using edlin to do file editing on Microsoft DOS back in the day. I found out sometime later in college that it was a copy of the Unix line editor 'ed' which vi (vim) is a wrapper around. All those painful line editing commands were actually useful when I would accidentally escape vi and end up in raw ed mode.