When was the Linux desktop ever alive?

ZDNet Sm@rt Partner columnist Steven J. Vaughan-Nicols says that Linux will never make it as a big-time desktop operating system. The reason isn’t a lack of [insert favorite reason here], it is, according to Vaughan-Nicols a matter perception: end-users just don’t see the apps they want: “In particular, Linux on the desktop needs Microsoft office before it can become mainstream… I’m not talking about technical excellence here, I’m talking about what users want. And, like it or lump it, they want Office.”