First to the desktop effort were Red Hat, the top dog in Linux sales, and Sun Microsystems--always looking for new ways to nettle archenemy Microsoft. Sun's StarOffice suite and its open-source cousin OpenOffice are key parts of most Linux desktop plans.
Linux, a clone of the Unix operating system, is the best-known example of open-source software--collaboratively developed programs whose underlying code may be freely shared, modified and redistributed. Open-source projects have begun saturating the computing industry, with big-name companies contributing to once-amateur efforts and even opening the source of their own programs.
The initial Linux desktop plans, accelerated by onerous price increases from Microsoft, were aimed at companies whose employees perform limited tasks such as entering data into online order forms. But by the end of the year, No. 2 Linux seller SuSE had begun discussing more ambitious desktop plans, and even Wal-Mart had entered the fray.
The pressure is twofold: Microsoft must fend off the threat, and Linux companies must deliver on a promise that flopped spectacularly at companies such as Eazel and Corel.
Sun's plan to offer Linux desktops is notable because until recently, the company kept Linux at arm's length. Sun was the last major server seller holding out against the OS, but began its reversal in February, giving Linux a place alongside its own Solaris operating system and, more remarkable, bowing to the economic power of Intel servers.
Microsoft, meanwhile, expanded its own watered-down version of open-source collaboration, letting select companies peek at the source code to Windows, if not actually allowing them to change it. The company hasn't warmed to Linux, though, gleefully distributing a third-party study showing Windows to be cheaper in most server tasks than Linux.
Microsoft and its allies are also lobbying to undermine Linux, though the company has found that its disparaging words have backfired. For their part, Linux and open-source fans have countered with their own political agitating.
Next year, industry eyes scrutinise how well current projects are faring. Among those efforts are UnitedLinux's move to counterbalance Red Hat, and a major upgrade to Linux, expected by June.
