The much-hyped "year of the Linux desktop" may still not be with us but there’s no doubting the free open-source operating system has gained significant traction in the last year. One reason for this is, with equal certainty, the mess that is Windows Vista. Here's how it's actively driving new interest in Linux.

Pia Waugh, former President of Linux Australia, recently spoke at my local Linux User Group (LUG.) She asked the audience what the major factor was contributing to the rise in popularity of open source software in recent times. Suggestions were offered ranging from FOSS staples Firefox to OpenOffice, but the winning answer was Windows Vista. It is the latest consumer operating system release (Windows Server 2008 being more recent), Waugh asserted, which is making people seek an alternative.

Sure, we have to be balanced and fair; Microsoft can’t take all the credit. There have been remarkable advances in the world of open source software that have reached the public eye. This includes the runaway success of the diminutive ASUS Eee Linux PC which brought its Xandros Linux-based software to the forefront.

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