I think Windows is successful because it was defacto preinstalled on all computers. Even people in third world countries are buying computers whole, not a basket of parts to assemble.
Also software. You’re not going to assemble a computer, install Linux, and then not be able to run anything on it. You want to run all the software that was built to run on Windows, which was built to run on Windows because it came installed on every computer, etc. (Remember Linux back then really couldn’t run all that much. No office? No games? You’re toast.)
the design for a new solar desalination system that takes in saltwater and heats it with natural sunlight.
The configuration of the device allows water to circulate in swirling eddies, in a manner similar to the much larger “thermohaline” circulation of the ocean. This circulation, combined with the sun’s heat, drives water to evaporate, leaving salt behind. The resulting water vapor can then be condensed and collected as pure, drinkable water. In the meantime, the leftover salt continues to circulate through and out of the device, rather than accumulating and clogging the system.
Neat.
The team envisions a scaled-up device could passively produce enough drinking water to meet the daily requirements of a small family.
… steam is then collected in a condenser to reclaim the water to continue the cycle.
The researchers on the new study set out to improve the efficiency of the heat transfer of the condenser pipes. They developed a coating made of fluorinated diamond-like carbon (F-DLC), a material that’s hydrophobic, or water-repelling. When the steam condenses on the coated pipes, it no longer forms a thin film but balls up into droplets much more easily. That helps it run off faster, allowing more steam to come into contact with the pipe sooner.