Linspire (which used to be called Lindows, I think, until Microsoft put a stop to that) is doing very well, having significantly increased its user base since the launch of version five of its Linux desktop product. The company now claims that user numbers are nearing the million mark.

"We're now approaching a million users. That's a significant number for Linspire and I'm pretty confident that it's the largest user base for any Linux desktop distro," said Kevin Carmony, the chief executive of Linspire.