http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/28/technology/28linux.htmlOne Small Step in Uphill Fight as Linux Adds a Media Player
By STEVE LOHR Published: June 28, 2004
NU Linux, the free computer operating system, has had far more success in winning converts in corporate data centers than on desktop personal computers. But as more user-friendly software makes its way onto the Linux desktop, the free operating system is starting to make progress in its David-vs.-Goliath competition against Microsoft, the dominant power in PC software.
Another step in the progress of Linux in personal computers will come today, when two large Linux distributors, Red Hat and Novell, are expected to announce that they will ship the media-playing software of RealNetworks in their Linux desktop products.<snip>
RealNetworks had previously reached distribution agreements with TurboLinux, which is strong in Asian markets, and Sun Microsystems, whose Java desktop software runs on Linux.<snip>
Though Linux on the desktop is making gains, it has a long, long way to go to challenge Microsoft, which has built its PC stronghold over more than two decades. By the end of the year, Linux will be running on 1 percent of the desktop PC's worldwide, compared with 2.8 percent for Apple's Macintosh, and 96 percent for Microsoft's Windows, according to Gartner Inc., a research firm. Linux does far better overseas than in the United States, and most analysts expect that Linux is on track to overtake Macintosh over the next several years.<snip>