Meh, the year of Linux for me was around 2007, when I started using Ubuntu. Stop worrying about whether other people are using Linux and just start using it (and contributing to the community). That's how you build up the userbase.
Yesterday I connected a webcam to Windows 7, I had to download drivers (about 100MB of it from Logitech) only after this it started working.
Also the same day I wanted to install my old HP 4300C scanner, connecting it to Windows 7 and using some old driver for windows xp didn't make it work. There are no drivers for Windows 7. The ones for XP are also quite old and are some kind of a "remastered" Windows 95 version sometimes they don't work.
When I did the same on linux (Debian Wheezy, default kernel 3.2.x) both devices just work I didn't have to do anything apart from running an application that uses them (Skype or scanimage).
I also see the benefits of having a Linux distribution over Windows 7(or 8). The driver hurdle is annoying on Windows. I recently helped a family member install Ubuntu 12.04 (this family member is not technically inclined at all!), I sat back and watched her install Ubuntu. No driver installs, no "enter in your license key" crap, no activation crap. It all just worked out out of the box. Even her wireless. I was pleasantly surprised that I wasn't needed anymore.
You and I may see the Linux desktop, but most people don't. Which is very sad, in my opinion. It'll come, I suppose. I just have to be skeptical.
In the time between when the "year of the desktop" meme was coined, honestly I think the goal posts have shifted.
It shouldn't be the goal or focus of Linux to win on the desktop, because the desktop is increasingly being relegated to a niche player. Winning on the desktop today would be a rather pointless victory IMO.
Linux is already right now, today, amazingly incredibly successful in all domains which I think are most relevant for the future: servers (a given) and mobile (Android, Firefox OS, Web OS, Ouya, etc, etc.)
I was first told the Year Of Linux On The Sesktop would be 1997, when it would overtake Windows 95 by being better/prettier/more functional. Just as soon as they fixed the issues with sound support...
I knew Ubuntu 12.04 LTS was going to make a difference. I've been using it in my desktop and I love it, everything works out of the box (sound, video, etc), and you can find anything you want in the software center. Now I only use Windows for games.
Opensource radeon driver is pretty good if you don't need 3D. I would actually say that it is much better then the AMD one - there are no problems with suspend and the card initializes more quickly.
I take it you will need 3D if you are in the market for Steam.
I also went through all sorts of hell with proprietary AMD/ATI drivers, and I needed them for OpenCL. To this day my Desktop is a pain to use but OpenCL works fine. Sadly they make the best cards for this purpose by far, otherwise I would get something else.
