It's about time. Today's WSJ has an article on the Linux desktop that could have been written five years ago. Same reasons for why companies would consider the Linux desktop (cost savings on single-purpose desktops, e.g.). Same cast of characters making the quotations. Etc. The only thing that has changed is that there are real numbers behind Linux desktop growth. Finally. The allure of desktop Linux is the low The only thing that has changed is that there are real numbers behind Linux desktop growth. Finally. The allure of desktop Linux is the low entry cost: A typical license for Linux from Novell is $50 a year per PC versus the $299 Microsoft charges for Windows to businesses that don’t have a long-term contract with the software maker. (Contract customers, mostly large businesses, pay less than $299 for Windows; Microsoft charges $199 for an upgrade.) Also, a Linux PC doesn’t use Microsoft’s Office, which has its own price. And companies willing to go without the support that comes from paid versions can install free versions of Linux. Linux still goes into only a tiny proportion of the desktop and laptop PCs sold. But in a recent report, market researcher IDC said licenses of both free and purchased versions of Linux software going into PCs world-wide rose 20.8% in 2006 over the previous year and forecast that licenses will increase 30% this year over last. That compares with 10.5% growth in 2004, according to IDC. Whether Linux gains a stronger footing in PCs depends partly on whether PC makers start supporting it more strongly.Dell has made noise about being open to Linux, and maybe it is. The jury is still out. One thing is clear (to me): Novell, for all its problems, is doing a great job of pushing the LInux desktop. I would probably classify it as the top Linux desktop vendor. Interestingly enough, it’s selling its own Linux desktops, without help from Microsoft. Odd how these things happen. 🙂 Open Source