Warring Linux factions are Microsoft's best friends

Anyone who writes anything negative about Linux has felt the wrath of Linux true believers. But now it appears that the Linux fans have turned to internal warfare, and the biggest winner will be Microsoft.

My blogging compatriot Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols writes in his blog Linux's worst enemies? Linux fans, that intercine warfare has broken out among various Linux factions. I won't go into details about the fighting --- Vaughan-Nichols does a great job of it, so check out his blog for more information. But his conclusion is worth reading:

You know, we've been here before. The one real winner when the Unix companies slugged it out was Microsoft. Why would anyone think that turning Linux into dueling fiefdoms arguing over who has betrayed open-source last is going to help anyone except Microsoft and other pure proprietary companies?

Linux's fiercely loyal fan base is both a benefit and a detriment to the operating system. It's a benefit for obvious reasons. It's a detriment because fierce loyalty can lead to close-mindedness and the desire to root out those who don't have the exact same true beliefs as you.

A divided Linux fan base comes at a time when Microsoft is feeling particularly vulnerable. Linux-based Android phones are becoming increasingly popular, while Windows phones languish. The Linux-based Chrome operating system for netbooks, when released, may eat into Windows market share. While Linux will never rival Microsoft on desktop and laptop PCs, it certainly is already a fearsome competitor on non-PC devices. So the Linux internal warfare will certainly be welcomed by Microsoft.