Most Linux adepts will agree Linux could have a higher market share than it does today, if it had been marketed more effectively in the past. Therefore, lots of those adepts stress “Linux needs more marketing!”

I’ve always wondered why there has yet to be a Linux distribution that has ventured into a big time marketing campaign for its Linux product. With Mac OSX stealing a lot of Microsoft’s market share due to a great marketing campaign with the “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” television commercials, why have we yet to see any Linux commercials?

"Whenever I hear people discussing GNU/Linux's prospects for becoming more popular, I'm reminded of a comment by Tommy Douglas, the social democrat who became a hero for introducing universal health care into Canada. If he could press a button and gain a million voters who did not understand his policies, he said, then he would not press that button. He meant that he was not in politics simply to be elected, but to gain supporters for his ideals -- and that he was determined not to lose sight of his long term goals while pursing short term ones.

Desktop Linux market share had a growth of about 50% last year according to the recent data by NetMarketShare. If we look at the data for year 2010, there was no growth at all. However, in 2011, starting from 0.96% market share in February, desktop Linux market share ended at 1.41%.

"...The ethical, political and long-term-general-good arguments revolving around Free Software are much subtler than an immediate doubling of cancer death rates. There is indeed room for considerable debate about just what if any the benefits are. But many people find the arguments for its value in the long term and its ethical importance very persuasive—indeed, you do yourself.

There are some in this world who believe that Linux is the king of all operating systems. In some ways I agree with them because Linux certainly is a big player in the server world. It may lack in market share in the the desktop sector, but that doesn't mean it's a lesser operating system.

I’m starting to see some big potential for symbiosis between two Linux and open source leaders: Red Hat and Ubuntu. Red Hat’s departure from the consumer desktop Linux market comes at the same time Ubuntu continues rolling in the same market with the release of Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron this week.

I believe in Synergy. One positive event feeds other positive events. The share of computer users who use Linux, GNU, and other Free Software is growing because people are actually starting to put some marketing muscle behind the concepts. Canonical is one of these companies. Red Hat is another. Google is also fighting the good fight.

If you think about where Linux is fighting for market and mind-share, chances are you're thinking about Linux slugging it out with Microsoft Windows or Sun Solaris on the server, or trying to tear desktop customers away from Windows, and to a far lesser extent, from Mac OS X.