Readers' Choice Awards 2010

Adobe AIR

Honorable Mention: JavaFX

Adobe AIR seems to be solidifying itself as your choice for Best Platform for Developing Rich Internet Apps, winning the category both this year and last. AIR is trending upward, rising a few percentage points this year vs. 2009.

apt

Honorable Mention: Synaptic

Despite your continued overwhelming preference for Ubuntu and siblings, the success of package managers typically associated with these distros is a tad enigmatic. Let's parse it. You prefer Ubuntu's default apt as Best Package Management Application but a full 10% less than last year. At the same time, 8% more of you like Synaptic than last year to give it honorable mention again, so it's reasonable to assume that a good number of the Ubuntu-ite tribe are trying Synaptic and digging it. We can comprehend all of that, but KPackageKit, Kubuntu's default package manager, wasn't even on the radar despite KDE's surge to tie GNOME for Best Desktop Environment. What's going on here?

WordPress

Honorable Mention: Drupal

Your narrator had a total blast building a sweet, slick Web site with WordPress, so he's totally in agreement your decision to grant it Best Content Management System for 2010. My experience was positive, and I put together a great design despite nearly no skill in graphic design. We at Linux Journal also gave our vote to honorable mention winner Drupal, the platform we have used for the previous and the recently updated LinuxJournal.com.

GoDaddy.com

Honorable Mention: Contegix

Although we have a clear winner for the Best Linux-Friendly Web Hosting Company for 2010, GoDaddy.com, the reality is that five companies have been jockeying for the title. Although GoDaddy.com won in 2008, it fell out of the winner's circle in 2009. Then, there's your honorable mention pick, Contegix, which was the winner last year. Companies like Dreamhost, Rackspace and 1&1 also have been in contention every year.

Dell

Honorable Mention: Lenovo

For years, Dell (at least in the US) avoided Linux-based PCs like the plague. We kept hearing how the market wasn't ready yet. We kept saying “Sheesh, guys, build it and they will come.” Well, now they've built it, and we have come—in droves! Dell dips its influential toe in the water and suddenly gets more votes than anyone for Best Linux Laptop Vendor. We're very curious to know how many of you are buying Dell laptops preinstalled vs. self-installation. Are we right to assume you're doing more of the latter? Our own hats are tipped graciously to Lenovo, who has taken arguably more risks than any other Windows-dominant laptop maker to put out great Linux-based laptops and make them mainstream. Also, we salute the Linux PC specialists who have been configuring our machines since the Precambrian. We hope you don't forget them.

Dell

Honorable Mention: Hewlett-Packard

The world's two biggest PC makers, Dell and HP, are your two top choices for Best Linux Desktop Workstation Vendor. This makes perfect sense, as installing Linux on desktops remains more trouble-free than doing so on laptops. Note that a spunky company, System 76—which proudly peddles Linux machines and doesn't make you enter through some backdoor link, only to find you've accidentally ordered a Windows machine—also did well in the voting.

IBM

Honorable Mention: Dell

In the Big Iron category, Best Linux Server Vendor, you gave more votes to IBM than any other company. It makes sense given IBM's long-term business strategy involving Linux. In 2009, Dell was the winner here, and this year, it placed a close second behind Big Blue.