There are few things more tedious than "fanboyism" than the attempt to outflank it altogether by suggesting (in pseudo-psychological jargon) that any attempt to rank and/or compare two things "is a pattern of thinking in absolutes" or, as an earlier post suggested, that any criticism of Android stems from an inferiority complex.

So, tell me, is it "thinking in absolutes" or an exercise in "futility" to state the following?

1. I do most of my work using *nix tools and appreciate being able to set up my OS the way I like it.

2. I think Linux is a fantastic platform for #1.

3. I was disappointed when Google (one of the few major companies capable of going toe to toe with Apple and Microsoft and a supporter of open source) decided to create their own operating system instead of throwing their weight behind a Linux distro like Ubuntu.

4. For something based on the Linux kernel, I find Android needlessly restrictive (i.e., it prevents me from doing #1).

5. So Ubuntu is creating the possibility of running Android apps on Linux. But what if I want to run traditional *nix apps on Android?

6. Android's growing market share should mean greater hardware support for Linux. But for my own personal use, #4 still applies.

7. Android is a great smartphone system---it made sense to add the java application layer to reduce the complexity for mobile developers. But I think Google's strategy is increasingly to develop Android (or Chrome OS) as a thin client that can access web services. And I happen not to like the thin client model.

8. I'm glad companies such as Nokia are still catering to niche *nix users such as myself.