Smithy

New York City

IT

<i>"But that battle has now extended to the desktop"</i>

I don't call a 96% share (Windows) versus a 1% share (Linux) a "battle".
Its more like a massacre.
The dominance of Windows is even more profound when you consider the fact that Linux came out in 1991, and Windows NT (on which Windows XP is based ) came out only in 1993!

Is Linux ever going to carry any battle to Windows? Not a chance.
Linux will have to fix their dreaded KPOD (Kernel Panic of Death), lack of device drivers for relatively common devices (especially consumer electronics products), lack of essential popular apps that consumers take for granted on Windows, in addition to overcoming how user unfriendly Linux continues to be.
And don't look to poor countries to save Windows either.
In Africa, India and China, hardly any consumers ever pay for their copy of Windows or Microsoft Office. They simply "borrow" from friends or just buy a pirated Windows Cd for peanuts in the street market.
So the only "advantage" that Linux claims to have over Windows (price) becomes a non-issue on developing countries!
Microsoft will continue to clobber Linux with ease for the foreseeable future!