from what I've read, Google Market is part of the closed source Google apps package and requires a licensing deal with Google. Archos may not like the terms or something.
It would be nice if there were a 3rd party market application and server system to replace the Google Market so there could be general open markets for everyone or vendors could easily put up their own markets. Much like how GNU/Linux distro's put up their own repositories via apt, rpm, etc.
I'm still keeping my eyes open as to way I see so many stating either only available outside the US or they won't be available until 2011. Some of those 2011 models were even shown at CES in Feb of this year yet still are not being release to market this year. From what I've seen, this seems to be related to the larger companies more than the small ones and leads me to wonder how much of the $500 million in marketing money Steve Ballmer is using to keep the Android buzz down this holiday season and pump up WP7.
Good to see Samsung is using Froyo and some of the tabs using Cortex A9 chips.
wrong OS, this is Windows we're talking about and the need to shut that down if you move a desktop icon is well known. They've obviously put far more effort into OS functions and updating than any unpaid Linux developer could ever imagine.
It is funny that we did just hear of ksplice recently and now this gets MS 'invention'. And when I saw the kplice post, I thought, 'wow, even fewer reboots? How could that be possible?'.
too bad he had you people to do all of his PC updating too or else he must have loved constantly rebooting his computer for updates and minor changes. I agree with him in that a knowing user who hits shutdown, should get prompted once that there are apps with unsaved data and if he/she hits continue, the system cache gets dumped, the apps should get yanked and a quick shutdown follows. And not an endless string of 'are you sure?', 'are you really sure?', 'are you REALLY sure?' dialogs.
In the OS/2 days, I recall there was a slow shutdown which would save app data and system ini configuration data before shutting down or a fast one which just dumped filesystem cache and shutdown quickly. When I knew my app data was saved and I'd not changed any desktop/WorkplaceShell objects, the quick shutdown was used and I used that often. Bill probably knew and had used OS/2 back then since they were often tweaking Chicago to try and do what OS/2 could do or to break OS/2 from running Chicago apps.
"an application aborted teh shutdown" which the user initiated? Really is this what happens? If so, it reminds me of Windows 3.x an their cooperative tasking method of running where the applications are in control, not the operating system. That is and was a very flawed design for a general purpose computing platform.
It all really sounds like someone is patenting how to shut off the lights when you leave your home, it seems that basic to me. Start a list of user started processes and send them kill signals with adjustable timeouts to give the user time to interact with a UI to handle clean file saving. Watch the app process for any children threads so you don't kill it while the user is interacting. Move on the the next process with an explicit kill or user shutdown until all user procs are gone and then go to your system list of procs for shutdown.
This really sounds like Microsoft is now looking for more and more operating processes other vendors use( everyone shuts down, many hibernate/suspend and everyone starts or wakes up. They're just patenting them so they can throw loads of patent infringements at them when it's time to beat them out of competition. MSFT is starting to look and act like SCO as they can't adapt and are starting to lose market after market and the desktop becomes old news.
I had the painful experience of helping a friend figure out why he could not get onto his banks web page using Microsoft Windows Vista. Turns out it was Vista screwing up the system time but on the way to figure that out, I had to reboot the computer a half dozen times due to software updates and many of them application level updates.
So no wonder someone at Microsoft thought it was important that they map out and get a patent on how to shutdown a computer. They've probably spend more man-hours working on it than any company in the history of computing and still fail at it. IMO
a lawsuit does not prove anything a judgment does. And this case is about J2ME vs J2SE and who gets to use what where. Sorry but your 'run away and run away fast' scare tactic sounds like just what the Microsoft camp wants to get out there. Kind of like how Microsoft released a statement saying they're ok with running Mono on Android once this case went public.
This also reminds me of how SCO was able to scare people away from Linux with their IBM, etc suit and guess who was right behind funding SCO?
spreading FUD like a typical Microserf. Me, I need to see more evidence and where Oracle is trying to go with this before even thinking Java is something to leave behind. But hey, it took more than one bad action from Microsoft before I left them in the early '90s but they kept showing how destructive they were and their tech was poor so it wasn't that hard to leave.
how does Oracle suing Google effect enterprise Java? You know, the runtime and app server stuff you can get from Oracle and also purchase app servers or use open source app servers.
From what I've seen, Oracle is going after Google because they, or Sun, partitioned Java between mobile and immoble systems and Google's use of the Java language is closer to the full Java language but for mobile devices.
I say let it play out and see where it goes before jumping off what has already been proven to work quite well for almost 10 years.
Java is still taught at most universities and it is still the tool for business application servers and now it is the language of Android. Don't use Java and hop right on yet another Microsoft treadmill project designed specifically just to keep you tied to Windows.
it's not needed. Think about it, it rolls along and somehow it'll fly to protect its occupants from roadside bombs? Doesn't it have to detect them before it jumps to the air? Otherwise, it's just and airplane or helo with some forward movement capabilities.
I don't get how this could be justified and if anything, they should be running around with corded tiny copters out infront of the convoys carrying sensors to ID the buried bombs. Cabled or corded so it can have lots of power and be pulled in quickly for evasive moves. Not something without enough protection from the bombs or other fire power just so it can fly over a threat. my $.02
I met a guy who worked for Microsoft on Visual J++ when it was initially compatible and he said there was quite the buzz to be the best "Java" there was. He then told me that all the Java project managers, included the Visual J++ ones were called to a meeting with Bill Gates. After that meeting, all current progress was stopped and they turned direction to a version of MS Java( not real Sun Java ) which used proprietary Windows calls and Visual J++ was changed to default to using those Windows specific APIs.
I believe this meeting was mentioned in court documents where it was said the Bill Gates yelled out "does anyone remember Windows?". Court documents showed that Microsoft, as a company, did and was operate to protect their position in desktop operating systems. ie, screw developers, screw competition, they do what is best for profits and that means protecting Windows at all costs.
Java is still very much a threat to Microsoft and they are still trying to win developers over to their technology so they can be directed, legally, to technology which will only run on Windows. MS.NET on Android or anything is foolish and a sign of naivety to Microsoft's motives and what it means to product life cycles and TCO. IMO
Just because Microsoft releases another version of something it does not mean or prove they are not moving away from it. How's that Kin SDK working out for ya or what about all the various incompatibilities with Windows CE versions and now Windows 7 mobile.
Huge troll my arss, Microsoft will do and has done anything it takes to protect the Windows monopoly and that includes screwing developers. I have no idea when Microsoft is moving away from their MS.NET frameworks but it has nothing to do with them making a release recently... wait, not even recently since you said April( 4 months ago ).
Speaking of transistions, with an theme making Firefox or Chrome look like MS Internet Explorer and this Gnome-7 theme, I wonder how long it would take people to figure out they were not running Windows 7? I'm talking about the vast majority of the people who used webmail and browsing.
And maybe, also change OpenOffice so that it just says Office and leave out anything which might give a clue it's not from Microsoft. Then just tell them it's another update to Office so things are just moved around a bit but it's the same Office underneath.
ah, just like the George Bush way of continuing to say Iraq had WMD's and Iraq was tied to the 9/11 terrorists. They said this publicly and in press statements so much, people believed them and it became _their_ truth.
it is still "improper" and incorrect. Or should we continue just redefining what is right and what is the truth and pretend we are moving forward?
yes I know but it does not matter because to Microsoft open source, GNU, and Linux are threats to Microsoft's primary revenue stream. Grey areas or not, Microsoft will say they're friendly toward open source but ANY and all open source is a threat to their revenue because it eats at their ability to charge for their software.
So in reply to your comment, "The reality is that there's room for both open and closed source software in the world.", I will repeat, not in Microsoft's world. IMO
I would not doubt that many of those with iPad's today are the same who got into the PDA craze at the turn of the century and jumped from PalmOS devices to Windows CE devices. Those kinds were constantly upgrading to have the latest stuff and spent more time showing it off than using it. Windows CE did a great job at killing off the PDA segment when you could show off amazing things like color screens, audio, and videos but it sucked the giant teat when it came to battery life, reliability, and usability. I even saw a few project die because they picked WinCE and the only way they could present it to the customer was with a huge add-on battery pack which was a deal breaker. Most of those people jumped from those WinCE PDAs to simple cellphones with address books and calendars or got a company supplied Blackberry. When the iPhone came around, they could be the cool dude in the room again and the iPad gave them their 2nd round of coolness.
Many of the people I know with iPhones moved to the next generation iPhone up to the 3GS and only one or two went for the iPhone 4. Only a few have put out the bucks for the iPad but they always pull it out at parties.
As for the user input method, anything with text on it besides one or two liners is far far easier to use with a keyboard. So tablets with add on keyboard capabilities will be the ones which make it longer than those which don't. I'm really surprised to not have seen any tablets with very small keyboards at the bottom center so they can be used much like the texting hold on a mobile phone. The big virtual keyboards don't work very well and texters have shown how fast they can be with two thumbs. strange but I think that'll eventually also provide some longevity to those devices. And anyone who tries to patent that, I'd been outed here first.
not in Microsoft's world. They refuse to port anything to any other OS but their own and for historical reasons they keep Office on Mac. It does not matter what the market share is, they will not port to the platform and instead will spend billions attempting to kill the alternate platform. They make 10's of billions in profits from Windows, anything else is a threat to that so DO NOT TRUST THEM WHEN THEY SAY THEY ARE FRIENDLY TOWARD ANYTHING OTHER THAN WINDOWS. It's a big fat lie. IMO
don't be so sure. Microsoft has billions in cash and _will_ spend lots of it attempting to keep GNU/Linux and other Linux based products off the market as it tried to get Windows 7 on netbooks and tablets and also Windows 7 Mobile on phones. Remember how they bought up contracts to stall Netscape's Navigator browser growth and then started paying ISP's for every copy of MS Internet Explorer shipped? Remember how Asus sold millions of netbooks with GNU/Linux on them and then Microsoft came in an signed a deal with them which resulted in cost and hardware increases to handle Windows XP and then how Asus pushed their GNU/Linux option aside?
It _will_ cost them billions but they will spend it to try and limit or stall Android, ChromeOS, and GNU/Linux on these tablet devices and other devices which are so trendy these days. And just look to how many Linux based products which keep getting delayed until next year for a hint as to how Microsoft might be working behind the scenes. Not too unlike a couple of years ago when Android finally hit the market late in the year but at the world's biggest telephony conference, all we heard was Windows 6.5 and _NOBODY_ would talk or mention Android.
Just saying that this bitch has more tricks up her sleeve and will be using them. This fight is on and it is bringing both Microsoft and Intel to the battle field. Linux, Android, or web based tech for Microsoft and ARM for Intel. IMO
that'll be where all the really cool sentient machines will be hanging out. Of course they'll all be holding a towel because no self respecting sentient machine would want to be caught powered down without one. I wonder what the towels are made of?
LoB
author is clueless and most article posts are too
on
The Case For Oracle
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· Score: 1
The author of the article says that Dalvik is Java-based. He then makes many references mixing Java the language with Java the platform. All in all a worthless article and reading many of the comments to the article on the site shows that most just don't understand the difference between a specification for a language and a platform for the runtime of the language. Heck, most don't even know what Microsoft did with the license to Java they got from Sun in 1996.
they can most definitely be counted as Linux, just not GNU/Linux.
I agree to some extent with what you've said but at what level do we consider something a Linux distro? We are all familiar with the many FSF applications and libraries and other OSS parts and pieces which make up a 'standard' Linux distro but are these others really different when they layer a different OSS system on top of the Linux kernel? Does the kernel make the distro or does the GNU layer above make it a Linux distro?
What would we call an OSS project like Android or WebOS which use the Linux Kernel and some other API layer above it instead of GNU/Linux? Goo/Linux, Web/Linux, Palm/Linux, ? I guess calling "Linux" GNU/Linux helps in this case because you know what it means to have a GNU/Linux distro as opposed to the xxx/Linux distros from Google, HP, and others.
so anything which becomes more generally known and familiar would show a downward trend and especially if the ease of use factor increased. If they could break down the searches into informational or general info and repair, driver, or fixit types then it might be worth more.
It is too bad IBM or others are not running any Linux type ads on TV any more. Now that Android and the term "Linux" is much more familiar, those kinds of ads would be far more effective. I'm starting to hear people saying things like 'I know what "Linux" means so I'm quite familiar with computers.". They've only had what I would consider a basic understanding of computers( Windows ) but they thought they were up to date because they'd heard of Linux and felt they knew what it was compared to the masses who don't even know what a file dialog is if you asked them.
It did go through my mind that maybe the decline in searches has been do to the release of Windows 7 after the flop which was Windows Vista. The trend up of Linux Mint makes total sense to me because they did a very nice Ubuntu release which provides out of the box capabilities most users would want. Canonical should be watching and learning from them.
Slashdot Mirror
ya beat me to it. lol
LoB
from what I've read, Google Market is part of the closed source Google apps package and requires a licensing deal with Google. Archos may not like the terms or something.
It would be nice if there were a 3rd party market application and server system to replace the Google Market so there could be general open markets for everyone or vendors could easily put up their own markets. Much like how GNU/Linux distro's put up their own repositories via apt, rpm, etc.
LoB
I'm still keeping my eyes open as to way I see so many stating either only available outside the US or they won't be available until 2011. Some of those 2011 models were even shown at CES in Feb of this year yet still are not being release to market this year. From what I've seen, this seems to be related to the larger companies more than the small ones and leads me to wonder how much of the $500 million in marketing money Steve Ballmer is using to keep the Android buzz down this holiday season and pump up WP7.
Good to see Samsung is using Froyo and some of the tabs using Cortex A9 chips.
LoB
wrong OS, this is Windows we're talking about and the need to shut that down if you move a desktop icon is well known. They've obviously put far more effort into OS functions and updating than any unpaid Linux developer could ever imagine.
It is funny that we did just hear of ksplice recently and now this gets MS 'invention'. And when I saw the kplice post, I thought, 'wow, even fewer reboots? How could that be possible?'.
LoB
too bad he had you people to do all of his PC updating too or else he must have loved constantly rebooting his computer for updates and minor changes. I agree with him in that a knowing user who hits shutdown, should get prompted once that there are apps with unsaved data and if he/she hits continue, the system cache gets dumped, the apps should get yanked and a quick shutdown follows. And not an endless string of 'are you sure?', 'are you really sure?', 'are you REALLY sure?' dialogs.
In the OS/2 days, I recall there was a slow shutdown which would save app data and system ini configuration data before shutting down or a fast one which just dumped filesystem cache and shutdown quickly. When I knew my app data was saved and I'd not changed any desktop/WorkplaceShell objects, the quick shutdown was used and I used that often. Bill probably knew and had used OS/2 back then since they were often tweaking Chicago to try and do what OS/2 could do or to break OS/2 from running Chicago apps.
LoB
"an application aborted teh shutdown" which the user initiated? Really is this what happens? If so, it reminds me of Windows 3.x an their cooperative tasking method of running where the applications are in control, not the operating system. That is and was a very flawed design for a general purpose computing platform.
It all really sounds like someone is patenting how to shut off the lights when you leave your home, it seems that basic to me. Start a list of user started processes and send them kill signals with adjustable timeouts to give the user time to interact with a UI to handle clean file saving. Watch the app process for any children threads so you don't kill it while the user is interacting. Move on the the next process with an explicit kill or user shutdown until all user procs are gone and then go to your system list of procs for shutdown.
This really sounds like Microsoft is now looking for more and more operating processes other vendors use( everyone shuts down, many hibernate/suspend and everyone starts or wakes up. They're just patenting them so they can throw loads of patent infringements at them when it's time to beat them out of competition. MSFT is starting to look and act like SCO as they can't adapt and are starting to lose market after market and the desktop becomes old news.
LoB
I had the painful experience of helping a friend figure out why he could not get onto his banks web page using Microsoft Windows Vista. Turns out it was Vista screwing up the system time but on the way to figure that out, I had to reboot the computer a half dozen times due to software updates and many of them application level updates.
So no wonder someone at Microsoft thought it was important that they map out and get a patent on how to shutdown a computer. They've probably spend more man-hours working on it than any company in the history of computing and still fail at it. IMO
LoB
yes, because putting Microsoft Windows on a network is a network configuration error.
LoB
a lawsuit does not prove anything a judgment does. And this case is about J2ME vs J2SE and who gets to use what where. Sorry but your 'run away and run away fast' scare tactic sounds like just what the Microsoft camp wants to get out there. Kind of like how Microsoft released a statement saying they're ok with running Mono on Android once this case went public.
This also reminds me of how SCO was able to scare people away from Linux with their IBM, etc suit and guess who was right behind funding SCO?
spreading FUD like a typical Microserf. Me, I need to see more evidence and where Oracle is trying to go with this before even thinking Java is something to leave behind. But hey, it took more than one bad action from Microsoft before I left them in the early '90s but they kept showing how destructive they were and their tech was poor so it wasn't that hard to leave.
LoB
how does Oracle suing Google effect enterprise Java? You know, the runtime and app server stuff you can get from Oracle and also purchase app servers or use open source app servers.
From what I've seen, Oracle is going after Google because they, or Sun, partitioned Java between mobile and immoble systems and Google's use of the Java language is closer to the full Java language but for mobile devices.
I say let it play out and see where it goes before jumping off what has already been proven to work quite well for almost 10 years.
LoB
Java is still taught at most universities and it is still the tool for business application servers and now it is the language of Android. Don't use Java and hop right on yet another Microsoft treadmill project designed specifically just to keep you tied to Windows.
LoB
it's not needed. Think about it, it rolls along and somehow it'll fly to protect its occupants from roadside bombs? Doesn't it have to detect them before it jumps to the air? Otherwise, it's just and airplane or helo with some forward movement capabilities.
I don't get how this could be justified and if anything, they should be running around with corded tiny copters out infront of the convoys carrying sensors to ID the buried bombs. Cabled or corded so it can have lots of power and be pulled in quickly for evasive moves. Not something without enough protection from the bombs or other fire power just so it can fly over a threat. my $.02
LoB
I met a guy who worked for Microsoft on Visual J++ when it was initially compatible and he said there was quite the buzz to be the best "Java" there was. He then told me that all the Java project managers, included the Visual J++ ones were called to a meeting with Bill Gates. After that meeting, all current progress was stopped and they turned direction to a version of MS Java( not real Sun Java ) which used proprietary Windows calls and Visual J++ was changed to default to using those Windows specific APIs.
.NET on Android or anything is foolish and a sign of naivety to Microsoft's motives and what it means to product life cycles and TCO. IMO
I believe this meeting was mentioned in court documents where it was said the Bill Gates yelled out "does anyone remember Windows?". Court documents showed that Microsoft, as a company, did and was operate to protect their position in desktop operating systems. ie, screw developers, screw competition, they do what is best for profits and that means protecting Windows at all costs.
Java is still very much a threat to Microsoft and they are still trying to win developers over to their technology so they can be directed, legally, to technology which will only run on Windows. MS
LoB
Just because Microsoft releases another version of something it does not mean or prove they are not moving away from it. How's that Kin SDK working out for ya or what about all the various incompatibilities with Windows CE versions and now Windows 7 mobile.
.NET frameworks but it has nothing to do with them making a release recently... wait, not even recently since you said April( 4 months ago ).
Huge troll my arss, Microsoft will do and has done anything it takes to protect the Windows monopoly and that includes screwing developers. I have no idea when Microsoft is moving away from their MS
LoB
Speaking of transistions, with an theme making Firefox or Chrome look like MS Internet Explorer and this Gnome-7 theme, I wonder how long it would take people to figure out they were not running Windows 7? I'm talking about the vast majority of the people who used webmail and browsing.
And maybe, also change OpenOffice so that it just says Office and leave out anything which might give a clue it's not from Microsoft. Then just tell them it's another update to Office so things are just moved around a bit but it's the same Office underneath.
Would make for a great video IMO.
LoB
ah, just like the George Bush way of continuing to say Iraq had WMD's and Iraq was tied to the 9/11 terrorists. They said this publicly and in press statements so much, people believed them and it became _their_ truth.
it is still "improper" and incorrect. Or should we continue just redefining what is right and what is the truth and pretend we are moving forward?
LoB
yes I know but it does not matter because to Microsoft open source, GNU, and Linux are threats to Microsoft's primary revenue stream. Grey areas or not, Microsoft will say they're friendly toward open source but ANY and all open source is a threat to their revenue because it eats at their ability to charge for their software.
So in reply to your comment, "The reality is that there's room for both open and closed source software in the world.", I will repeat, not in Microsoft's world. IMO
LoB
I would not doubt that many of those with iPad's today are the same who got into the PDA craze at the turn of the century and jumped from PalmOS devices to Windows CE devices. Those kinds were constantly upgrading to have the latest stuff and spent more time showing it off than using it. Windows CE did a great job at killing off the PDA segment when you could show off amazing things like color screens, audio, and videos but it sucked the giant teat when it came to battery life, reliability, and usability. I even saw a few project die because they picked WinCE and the only way they could present it to the customer was with a huge add-on battery pack which was a deal breaker. Most of those people jumped from those WinCE PDAs to simple cellphones with address books and calendars or got a company supplied Blackberry. When the iPhone came around, they could be the cool dude in the room again and the iPad gave them their 2nd round of coolness.
Many of the people I know with iPhones moved to the next generation iPhone up to the 3GS and only one or two went for the iPhone 4. Only a few have put out the bucks for the iPad but they always pull it out at parties.
As for the user input method, anything with text on it besides one or two liners is far far easier to use with a keyboard. So tablets with add on keyboard capabilities will be the ones which make it longer than those which don't. I'm really surprised to not have seen any tablets with very small keyboards at the bottom center so they can be used much like the texting hold on a mobile phone. The big virtual keyboards don't work very well and texters have shown how fast they can be with two thumbs. strange but I think that'll eventually also provide some longevity to those devices. And anyone who tries to patent that, I'd been outed here first.
LoB
not in Microsoft's world. They refuse to port anything to any other OS but their own and for historical reasons they keep Office on Mac. It does not matter what the market share is, they will not port to the platform and instead will spend billions attempting to kill the alternate platform. They make 10's of billions in profits from Windows, anything else is a threat to that so DO NOT TRUST THEM WHEN THEY SAY THEY ARE FRIENDLY TOWARD ANYTHING OTHER THAN WINDOWS. It's a big fat lie. IMO
LoB
don't be so sure. Microsoft has billions in cash and _will_ spend lots of it attempting to keep GNU/Linux and other Linux based products off the market as it tried to get Windows 7 on netbooks and tablets and also Windows 7 Mobile on phones. Remember how they bought up contracts to stall Netscape's Navigator browser growth and then started paying ISP's for every copy of MS Internet Explorer shipped? Remember how Asus sold millions of netbooks with GNU/Linux on them and then Microsoft came in an signed a deal with them which resulted in cost and hardware increases to handle Windows XP and then how Asus pushed their GNU/Linux option aside?
It _will_ cost them billions but they will spend it to try and limit or stall Android, ChromeOS, and GNU/Linux on these tablet devices and other devices which are so trendy these days. And just look to how many Linux based products which keep getting delayed until next year for a hint as to how Microsoft might be working behind the scenes. Not too unlike a couple of years ago when Android finally hit the market late in the year but at the world's biggest telephony conference, all we heard was Windows 6.5 and _NOBODY_ would talk or mention Android.
Just saying that this bitch has more tricks up her sleeve and will be using them. This fight is on and it is bringing both Microsoft and Intel to the battle field. Linux, Android, or web based tech for Microsoft and ARM for Intel. IMO
LoB
that'll be where all the really cool sentient machines will be hanging out. Of course they'll all be holding a towel because no self respecting sentient machine would want to be caught powered down without one. I wonder what the towels are made of?
LoB
The author of the article says that Dalvik is Java-based. He then makes many references mixing Java the language with Java the platform. All in all a worthless article and reading many of the comments to the article on the site shows that most just don't understand the difference between a specification for a language and a platform for the runtime of the language. Heck, most don't even know what Microsoft did with the license to Java they got from Sun in 1996.
I want my 15 minutes back.
LoB
Linuxish but not Linux IMO
LoB
they can most definitely be counted as Linux, just not GNU/Linux.
I agree to some extent with what you've said but at what level do we consider something a Linux distro? We are all familiar with the many FSF applications and libraries and other OSS parts and pieces which make up a 'standard' Linux distro but are these others really different when they layer a different OSS system on top of the Linux kernel? Does the kernel make the distro or does the GNU layer above make it a Linux distro?
What would we call an OSS project like Android or WebOS which use the Linux Kernel and some other API layer above it instead of GNU/Linux? Goo/Linux, Web/Linux, Palm/Linux, ? I guess calling "Linux" GNU/Linux helps in this case because you know what it means to have a GNU/Linux distro as opposed to the xxx/Linux distros from Google, HP, and others.
LoB
so anything which becomes more generally known and familiar would show a downward trend and especially if the ease of use factor increased. If they could break down the searches into informational or general info and repair, driver, or fixit types then it might be worth more.
It is too bad IBM or others are not running any Linux type ads on TV any more. Now that Android and the term "Linux" is much more familiar, those kinds of ads would be far more effective. I'm starting to hear people saying things like 'I know what "Linux" means so I'm quite familiar with computers.". They've only had what I would consider a basic understanding of computers( Windows ) but they thought they were up to date because they'd heard of Linux and felt they knew what it was compared to the masses who don't even know what a file dialog is if you asked them.
It did go through my mind that maybe the decline in searches has been do to the release of Windows 7 after the flop which was Windows Vista. The trend up of Linux Mint makes total sense to me because they did a very nice Ubuntu release which provides out of the box capabilities most users would want. Canonical should be watching and learning from them.
LoB