IBM, Others Pushing Linux Onto Desktop; But That's Windows Territory; The open operating system is a factor in server market, but minor presence on PCs.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)

Byline: KEN SPENCER BROWN

Despite Linux's steady march into servers, the renegade operating system hasn't made much of a dent in the personal computer market -- where Microsoft Corp.'s Windows has ruled for more than a decade.

Linux has a barely measurable market share in PCs vs. Microsoft's 90%-plus vice grip on the segment. But the legions of volunteers who've created Linux aren't ceding the market. And big-name corporate support and Windows defections by Microsoft-wary governments have breathed new life into the fight.

IBM Corp., a big backer of Linux for corporate servers, threw its weight this month behind Linux for PCs. It announced that it's converted 15,000 of its own machines to Linux and plans to switch another 60,000 next year.

Hewlett-Packard Co., Novell Inc., Sun Microsystems Inc. and others, meanwhile, are working on …