I agree with Palmetto and Deadly Ernest...
and especially on the fact that some modicum of standardization has been good for FOSS. I'm having less resistance from my clients in trying LiveCDs of Ubuntu or other well defined Linux distro. One only has to look at the veritable stampede to open source developed smart phones to see the future, and it is bright! Maybe Android is closed now, but it would never have existed without an open source background.
Folks just want stability - what scares them is all the blizzard of distros peppering the field - it leads to confusion - I doubt most FOSS fans really want this to jell anyway, as they like to sniff and pontificate about their exclusivity. This just drives many of my clients away from FOSS, not toward it. Now when I explain to them that their very much loved Android came from that same community, it opens their eyes to the possibilities. I think the public is better primed than ever before for the big jump in computing - all it takes is a little stability.
To make FOSS an OS for the people, you gotta have some consideration for the people.
