Linux, a clone of Unix not known for being easy to use, hasn't had a strong history on mainstream computers. In more optimistic times in the late 1990s, companies such as Ebiz Enterprises and Eazel once hoped to sell Linux in mainstream PCs, but that idea faltered. Dell Computer, for example, stopped offering Linux as a standard option on its PCs.
Instead, Linux has been most popular on servers, the higher-end networked systems that handle tasks such as managing e-mail or hosting Web sites. That's the area where Sun and Red Hat have the bulk of their existing customers and where Microsoft is comparatively weak.
But now Red Hat, Sun and a Boston start-up called Ximian are advocating desktop Linux in some corporate environments. The change has been spurred partly by the availability of software packages such as the OpenOffice office software and Mozilla Web browser and partly by dissatisfaction with Microsoft's Software Assurance subscription plan.
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