Linux Journal | December 2012 | Issue 224 - ACM Digital Library

FEATURE Readers’ Choice Awards 2012BEST OTHER LINUX-BASED GADGETWe’re excited, and not at all surprised, to see the Raspberry Pi in the topspot this year. What a neat device, and what amazing potential it has asthe core of cool projects everywhere.47.9% Raspberry Pi26.5% Amazon Kindle6.6% Other*6.4% B&N NOOK5% TomTom NavigationSystem2% Popcorn Hour1.7% PogoPlug1.7% Sheeva plug1.1% Chumby.6% Kangaroo TV.3% Ben NanoNote.3% BUG*BeagleBone and BeagleBoard bothreceived several write-in votes.BEST NEW OPEN-SOURCE PROJECT(RELEASED IN 2011 OR 2012)Low price point, incredible design and nifty name, Raspberry Pi stole theshow this year as the best new Open-Source Project. When the release dayfinally came, people were lined up outside the store waiting to buy their ownRaspberry Pis. Of course, we’re geeks, so “lining up” meant waiting at ourcomputers to pre-order on-line, but the concept still was the same. To be fair,we should shine a little light on Cinnamon and OwnCloud, both getting asignificant number of votes. Much like Fred Kaps, who followed the Beatles onThe Ed Sullivan Show, it would be easy to overlook some really great projects!BEST NEW COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(RELEASED IN 2011 OR 2012)My fellow optimists, I’m happy to see you voted for Steam based on Valve’scommitment to release a Linux client. We know Linux is a great platformfor gaming, and if Valve can put its weight behind the support of ourOS, it could mean the floodgates would open when it comes to availablecommercial games. Valve did it for OS X; let’s see how it goes for Linux!88 / DECEMBER 2012 / WWW.LINUXJOURNAL.COM