I have written previously about the rapid encroachment of the Linux-based Android operating system into the Australian mobile phone market, a phenomenon which, I anticipate, will eventually see dozens of Android handsets flood into Australian hands and pose a strong challenge to other mobile phone vendors such as Apple, Research in Motion and others.
This phenomenon alone will see millions of Australians exposed to Linux.
But yesterday I received a demonstration of another Linux-based device which I believe will have a massive impact on the Australian market: Telstra's T-Box.
The T-Box is an integrated media centre platform which Telstra plans to start selling in mid-June in Australia for $299 - a paltry price when you consider that the box contains two high definition TV tuners, a 320GB hard disk for recording video, and integration with a bunch of Telstra IPTV channels and its extremely well-populated movies on demand store.
