Martin LaMonica from CNet writes on Red Hat's latest desktop Linux strategy.

Red Hat likes Linux on the desktop, but it also likes making money.

The company's desktop software unit on Wednesday released an update on its plans, saying it will focus its efforts on specific markets but not face off against Microsoft in the consumer market.

The Linux Desktop team explained:

An explanation: as a public, for-profit company, Red Hat must create products and technologies with an eye on the bottom line, and with desktops, this is much harder to do than with servers. The desktop market suffers from having one dominant vendor, and some people still perceive that today's Linux desktops simply don't provide a practical alternative.

Instead, Red Hat is focusing on desktop software that works with its server products aimed at businesses and developers.

Hmmm. Red Hat diverting commercial efforts away from direct competition with Microsoft? Pretty soon, we will hear the Free Culture-Software Movement crying stifled innovation in the desktop space due to lack of competition (despite the fact that non-competition is due to Red Hat unwilling to go head-to-head with Redmond).

If Red Hat was really a good FOSS community citizen, it would still compete directly with Microsoft on the desktop, ride any loss to its bottom line, and therefore promote the freedom to tinker and the FOSS revolution.