"Although it sounds like Linux is out of the match,
Microsoft's message doesn't entirely reflect reality. LeBlanc
strategically omitted some relevant contextual information in his
recitation of the NPD statistics. Specifically, the NPD study only
counts sales from brick-and-mortar retail stores and doesn't
include Internet purchases, which make up a very significant chunk
of computer sales.
"His statements about Canonical, the company behind the popular
Ubuntu Linux distribution, are also misleading. It is unclear to me
how he can cite Canonical in reference to MSI return rates, as
MSI's Linux-based Wind netbooks ship with Novell's SUSE Linux
Enterprise Desktop (SLED), not with Canonical's Ubuntu Linux
distribution.
"Chris Kenyon, Canonical's OEM services head, took issue with
this error. Kenyon wrote a response in the official Canonical blog.
He says that LeBlanc's characterization of Linux as unpopular on
netbooks is an "oversimplification" and he criticizes Microsoft for
erroneously contending that Canonical has confirmed MSI's return
rate statistics."
