Red Hat is the number one Linux company, but they haven’t been interested in the Linux desktop for years. With the open-sourcing of SPICE (Simple Protocol for Independent Computing Environment), that’s changing.
SPICE, like Microsoft’s RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) and Citrix’s ICA (Independent Computing Architecture), is a desktop presentation services protocol. They’re used for thin-client desktops, and SPICE will be too. In 2010, you can count on Red Hat returning to the Linux desktop.
But they won’t be doing it as a competitor to traditional desktops like Ubuntu 9.10 or Windows 7. Thin clients are meant for corporate desktops, like those in a company where Red Hat is already powering the servers. Remember, it’s in Linux servers, not desktops, that Red Hat has found its riches.
On the server side, SPICE depends on KVM (Kernel Virtual Machine) for its horsepower. Guess what virtualization software Red Hat focuses on? That would be KVM. So if you have a company that’s already invested in Red Hat on the servers, wouldn’t it make sense to offer them a complementary Linux desktop option as well? And perhaps sell a few more server licenses along the way? I think so, and Red Hat thinks the same way.
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