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I know how to defeat Linux.

Have Microsoft purchase the rights.

It’ll be toast in a couple of years.

I guess I’ll have to put my Commodore Pet to sleep.

or maybe...China runs it...because...its ....FREE.

Cheap bastids that they are....heh heh heh

Linux may never be a major player in the desktop/laptop market. However, even that market is being eroded by iOS and Android, as people switch to tablets. I've lost track of the number of people I've seen abandoning their laptop for a tablet with a Bluetooth keyboard and the Facebook app on an iPad or similar tablet.

However, I'm seeing the server market being taken over by Linux, especially in the cloud computing sector. Companies are migrating to their own VMware clusters or using a cloud service like Amazon. Microsoft's licensing terms make it a no-brainer -- when you can create a Linux image and clone it at will, you don't have to worry about license compliance and paying an additional fee every time you do it.

Windows Server is only being used for applications that haven't yet been ported to Linux, or for legacy systems they haven't been able to retire or convert. Yes, there are exceptions in some companies, but only because they haven't overcome the inertia. It won't be long before Microsoft Server applications will be considered the same way as mainframe apps were viewed 10-20 years ago: dinosaurs.

Microsoft can keep adding functionality and features, but the reality is that few people actually login to a server. Most of the processing is client/server. My current client doesn't even bother to put a GUI on their Linux servers: all the installation is done with SSH and a command shell. Most administration for Websphere, Weblogic, etc. is done with a web browser running someplace else.