Red Hat and Novell decided not to challenge Microsoft on desktop PCs. However, Canonical Ltd is getting ready to release a new version of Ubuntu on Thursday. According to Mark Shuttleworth:
The public perception of open source software is changing fast. French police force was currently deploying 50,000 Ubuntu-powered machines, while Spanish education authorities were rolling out 500,000 desktops with the OS. Hardy Heron also has improved support for multimedia, including photo editing, music sharing and video playback. It’s a favorite version of Linux both for specialists and one that specialists would recommend to a cousin, aunt or uncle who want to have a stable desktop internet experience. There are other versions of Linux that are better for a particular purpose – but Ubuntu strives to be a general platform that is secure and self-maintained.