I think the PC succeeded because of the massive demand in business for a reliable, cheaper alternative. The thing about the markets these days is that a tablet

I think the PC succeeded because of the massive demand in business for a reliable, cheaper alternative. The thing about the markets these days is that a tablet and a phone are very different from an office computer. They're much more personal. They're also cheaper to start with, so people might just be willing to pay for quality in ways that small/medium/large-sized businesses wouldn't for PCs. But all of this is sort of thinking relativistically in terms of the desktop/tablet/phone space. However, there are too many paths out there these days for things to proceed slowly, linearly and predictably. That's the one huge advantage that Linux has over all of this. It attracts people who are in left field who are going to change the entire paradigm. Maybe the future is 3D CSS transforms. Maybe it's Apple. But maybe it's a completely different dialogue. All it takes is one or two misguided people on HN, e.g.