Now, if only the open source desktop movements could clean house, figure out funding and get their stacks in order,

Yeah that will never happen, naturally. 🙂

we might finally, for the umpteenth time, maybe see the year of the Linux desktop.

This one might happen, eventually. But not due to concerted effort – of which there has been no shortage, it has seen and continues to see constant, fervent improvement. It will happen because Microsoft is letting their guard down.

Linux is on every platform and being used for almost everything. If left alone it tends to expand eventually and fill every nook and cranny. Microsoft has been keeping the desktop airtight for several decades now but they seem to have hit a dead-end. (When you start putting ads in the start menu it's a sign you're going brain-dead.) The innovation gap has been widening steadily for a decade now and the industry will go where the fresh stuff is happening.

It will be interesting to see if they get off their ass and get back in the game or start throwing their weight around like in the good old '90s and try to pull everybody down.