Asus and Microsoft join forces against Linux

Microsoft and Asus have launched a marketing campaign to encourage netbook users to use Windows rather than Linux.

The campaign has kicked off with a web page entitled “It’s better with Windows” showing adverts for Windows and suggesting it is a better choice for use with Asus’ range of netbooks.

Asus confirmed to vnunet.com that the campaign was legitimate, saying: “As a hardware vendor we have to provide both operation systems for our consumers.”

However, some will see this as a thinly veiled attempt by Microsoft to protect its share in the growing netbook market. While the company is claiming that the vast majority of netbooks is shipping Windows nevertheless it appears worried by Linux.

Microsoft is also facing an increasing challenge from a traditional ally for control of netbooks. Intel’s Moblin operating system for netbooks is developed around Linux and the company its beta of the latest version.