Quick blog: Just so I'll remember to talk about it later, note to self: I'm pretty sure X11 & friends is going to ultimately do what Sun wishes Java would. I'm already spoiled expecting to find vi or vim on any machine I use, Solaris, Mac OS X or 9-, or Windows. Eclipse is another (not X11, sure, but isn't Sun's Java; that's IBM's, so to speak). If I could expect to find applications as similar crossplatform as vi[m], Gimp, and AbiWord are, I know I'd start using those like I do the three I just listed.

Sure, the crossplatform user isn't exactly common, but at least Window's Office practical-monopoly could start to fall. People would start choosing computer operating systems like they do gaming consoles, "What're this console's exclusives?"

As Joel would probably say, X11 makes traditional office applications a commodity (free for the user once the society gets used to the Free software's in's and out's). Now you'll buy your OS not for Office (or what-have-you), but for things like iDVD or Internet Explorer or someone's business server suite.