Wither Windows?

So quite recently, the Ruby on Rails open source web framework announced that they would be migrating from the Subversion code repository they had to a new one managed by Git.  Git is a version control system created by Linus Torvalds to manage the Linux kernel.  Linus had several requirements in mind when he made Git, requirements that involved specific sets of features, scaleability, stability etc.

As might be expected from the creator of the Linux kernel, none of these requirements included running well on Windows.

Git does technically run on Windows, but its kind of a hack, and Redmond's favorite platform is definitely treated like a second class citizen (ooh... irony...).  So naturally when Rails moved to Git, there was a number of Windows users who were concerned they were being left behind.  Interestingly, the Rails maintainers responded that amongst the core developers of Ruby on Rails, Windows users were a small minority.

So then, in this other piece I was reading (I need to see at least two things before I declare an Official Trend) John Dvorak rips on Dell, claiming they're stuck in a 90's mentality.  In the article, he says Dell isn't keeping up and startups in Silicon Valley these days tend to use laptops, and many many of these laptops are Macs.

Even Senator Schmelkin, a long time Windows guy, switched completely over to a Mac a couple of months ago (I tried to get him to blog it...sorry, no luck...).

Okay - I knew Apple was getting a boost from the whole  iPod thing, but I never expected to see quite this level of momentum (and yes, yes...I'm sure in the accounting and parking facility businesses Windows still has 18456% market share...).  There seems to be an accelerating trend, especially in the software and web world where not only is it more desirable to work on a Mac, but its beginning to look like people are beginning to take the position that Windows doesn't matter.  It's like it's deprecated.

(Disclosure - I was a Mac guy from before it was cool, except for a span of about 5 years that I spent trying to install Linux on a laptop).

The Rails guys do tend to be a bit religious at times - "my way or the highway".  But I do find the basis for their switch interesting.  The lack of first-class support for Windows was simply not a consideration.  Has the world finally changed?  Is the wicked witch finally dead?