I think there is going to be a big departure in what developers want, and what consumers want. For the most part, over the last 10 years, those two groups were

I think there is going to be a big departure in what developers want, and what consumers want. For the most part, over the last 10 years, those two groups were largely using the same computers and OS's, but that has already changed, and will continue to do so. If Google can get their platform in front a ton of people, the developers will most likely follow (although they maybe using different machines than the consumers). On a random side note, just picked up a Samsung Chromebook. Loaded up crouton and Ubuntu. This thing definitely puts my 5 year old craptop to shame. If you already have a Macbook, you might not be as impressed, but for the price, this thing can't be beat. So to answer the question " What does your desktop look like a year from now?" Assuming the Chromebook holds up that long (although even if it doesn't, I can easily afford a new one), Ubuntu/Linux for dev(ish) work, and Chrome OS for browsing and non-work stuff (switching between the two is instant, and you can even stream music in Chrome OS and listen to it while in Ubuntu).