Rumors circulate that HP is building a desktop version of Linux to compete with Mac and Windows. There have been a few reports recently that HP is looking at a few different workarounds on Windows Vista. BusinessWeek cites sources at the company saying they’re developing an end-run around Vista that would enable customers to bypass Windows. And there’s sources indicating they are building a full-blown competitive OS based on Linux. HP has tried this once before, with little luck with a project called New Wave that was an additional layer on top of Windows. There were a few good ideas in New Wave, but building on top of Windows meant it was never going to be that good. Now that Linux has matured enough to be a well-accepted server OS and a potential up-and-comer on the desktop, the odds are better than they’ve ever been.Martin Heller is skeptical that HP’s engineers have it in them to compete on the desktop OS. Still, maybe the effort will put some pressure on Microsoft to improve things. Open Source