Only after the iPad recreated the tablet market. For a while netbooks were gaining traction. Just not linux netbooks.
>What's the other thing holding Linux back from the desktop in your opinion that ranks higher than either of reasons I mentioned?
You're shifting the burden of proof here. For what possible reason would anyone believe the market wants Linux on the desktop? I can think of no reason. It doesn't look as nice, it doesn't run the major apps people are used to (e.g. Photoshop, Office, etc.). What "killer feature" does Linux have that would make the masses want to switch to it, and don't say "open source" since I doubt that even a majority of people who know what that means care about that.
>What's the other thing holding Linux back from the desktop in your opinion that ranks higher than either of reasons I mentioned?
You're shifting the burden of proof here. For what possible reason would anyone believe the market wants Linux on the desktop? I can think of no reason. It doesn't look as nice, it doesn't run the major apps people are used to (e.g. Photoshop, Office, etc.). What "killer feature" does Linux have that would make the masses want to switch to it, and don't say "open source" since I doubt that even a majority of people who know what that means care about that.