OPEN SOURCE IMPACT ON MICROSOFT REVENUE

"Microsoft has listed companies such as Red Hat and Canonical, both sellers of GNU/Linux, among the reasons for the 17 percent fall in revenue for the fourth quarter, year on year."



"Microsoft saw revenue fall to $US13.10 billion. This is the second straight quarter for which sales graphs have showed a downward trend."

While profits fell across its business, the biggest drop was in its client division - 33 percent.

"The software giant made mention of GNU/Linux - what CEO Steve Ballmer once referred to as a cancer - as one of the factors in its 10-K filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission."