The platform doesn't matter. Nobody cares about computers enough to care whether it runs Windows or Linux. All the things you find great about Linux are boring and worthless to the average person because their life does not revolve around computers.

You might be able to get people to convert if Linux had some killer applications that Windows didn't. People do actually care about what they can and cannot do with their computer. You can do far more with a Windows computer than you can do with Linux. Many powerful and important applications are not available on Linux. But this isn't likely to change, because most people who have great ideas want to make money off of them, and there's not a lot of money to be made on Linux.

I'm an "environmentalist" but the idea of high gas prices being good is crazy to me. The assumption that people will react logically to oil scarcity is so naive. People will actually just fight to hold on to their present lifestyle rather than accept change. Instead of pushing for sustainability or efficiency, what will actually happen is more support for "drill baby drill," oil wars, tar sands development, and the possibility of mass synthetic fuel production.

Smartphones usually do not outmatch the devices they are supposed to replace. Being limited to pocket size basically ensures this. In contrast, computers usually are much better at everything. With a computer, you can play mp3/tv/video; write email/docs/programs; make and receive phone calls; read Kindle books; and play anything from Solitaire to Starcraft 2. And it does this better than mp3 players, TV's, typewriters, telephones, Kindle tablets, and Playstations.

Smartphones can "do" a lot of the things other devices can, but it's usually not pleasant in comparison and for that reason I see them as backups or benchwarmers and I don't see them as a fun toy to spend lots of money on.