> If you've still got a desk computer which runs linux, regardless the WM you've still got a desktop linux box.
Semantics. I prefer to call it a personal unix workstation :) I have a similar software setup on my laptop, which you can't call a "desktop". We can call it a portable unix workstation then.
>I have a similar software setup on my laptop, which you can't call a "desktop".
According to the standard terminology used by most writers in the computer industry last 5 years, yes you can (when applied to software).
In contrast, if you say, "After using a desktop linux box for about 15 years, I have moved on," most readers are going to be misled into concluding that you've switched to OS X or Windows. (We only got what you actually meant because we were paying sufficient attention and because you went on to talk of tiling windowing and a keyboard oriented user experience, which are not really an option on OS X and Windows.)
P.S. In all the discussion about tablet computer, you really never noticed any of the thousands of authors using "desktop OS" to refer to the more-traditional kind of OS that runs on both desktop computers and laptop computers?
And you never noticed authors using "desktop" to distinguish a user-facing computer from a server?
Actually yes, the phrase 'Linux on the Desktop' does include laptops. 'Linux on the Desktop' sounds like a better rallying cry then 'Everyone using Linux directly'.
Semantics. I prefer to call it a personal unix workstation :) I have a similar software setup on my laptop, which you can't call a "desktop". We can call it a portable unix workstation then.