For decades now, we’ve been fussing about operating systems. “Mac OS X is better than Windows!” “Why upgrade to Windows 7 when XP works just fine?” “You’re all wrong. Linux rules.” Such arguments are about to become history.
Thanks to advances in virtualization, cloud technology and the Web, it matters less and less to users which operating system is behind their desktop screens — or, for that matter, their tablet and smartphone displays.
Don’t get me wrong. Operating systems will remain important for as long as we use computers. But for the most part, they are going to matter only to the people behind the scenes.