Dell has no intention of selling non-Windows consumer and commodity PCs/Notepads. They simply can’t as the net profit on a Dell system is derived directly from the Windows OS via “Desktop Real Estate” and any Microsoft leads and co-marketing funds [kickbacks] provided — and not from the hardware.

It's a threat Microsoft can't let stand: the entire third world learning Linux as children, and growing up to use it. And Microsoft is going to get its way. It comes after a sudden wave of SCO-like problems for the OLPC project. A specious patent lawsuit over keyboards. Board-member Intel thrown out of the project for attempting to convince national governments to drop OLPC purchases and go with its own (Windows) product. First, OLPC is shown what its problems will be if it doesn't cooperate with Microsoft. Then, Microsoft approaches with money and technical help - you just have to run Windows to get it.

Coming at the time of an economy in recession it looks like Microsoft might actually be scared that customers might not spend money on a Windows upgrade. There's no way to go back in time and prevent the damage to Microsoft's credibility done by the Windows Vista release, we'll just have to wait and see what the future actually holds for Windows 7.

Dell has delivered a dose of reality for both Microsoft and the Linux community on the subject of netbooks.

Speaking at OpenSource World, a Dell executive deflated Microsoft's enthusiasm for making a case out of the number of Linux netbooks returned by unhappy customers.

It's time to standardise on KVM, decides the Linux Foundation. For those who are new to this discussion, here is necessary background on Ignition Partners, XenSource, Citrix, and Microsoft. It's reassuring to see that not only Canonical and Red Hat (in that order) realised what was going on.

The leader of Microsoft’s integration efforts around open source software and its proprietary technologies is expanding his role by adding the title "general manager of Windows server marketing," further indication that Microsoft plans to crank up the volume on its Windows/Linux story.

I hadn't thought about it for a while, but given the recent Conficker outbreak, I got to rethink of the whole thing again. Now.... there was something that bothered me A LOT.... and it still does (though I'm not working with them anymore, I still feel like I'm a part of the family). They are still developing applications in-house using proprietary frameworks tied to Windows.

The evidence shows that Microsoft’s marketing department has not done particularly well with Windows Vista. Almost every story you see about Vista is a negative one. Even I, as a Linux user, think that Vista is better than its reputation. But Microsoft’s marketing is not always a failure, it appears.

Despite the fact that developers are showing increasing interest in developing on Linux, we do have huge number of them developing on Windows and later deploying on Linux. Need to understand why ?