Some Linux fans will have you believe that even though Windows dominates the desktop, Linux is closing in on Microsoft in the server market. New research from IDC shows that it’s not so: Windows beats Linux when it comes to servers by well over a three-to-one margin, as it has for at least a year.

IDC recently issued a report about worldwide server use, which primarily focused on server hardware, with IBM in the lead, followed by HP, Dell, Sun, and Fujitsu.

Just as interesting are the figures for market share by operating system. The research shows that Windows Server had a 73.9% market share for the fourth quarter of 2009, with Linux at 21.2%. Those numbers are precisely the same — down to the tenth of a percentage point — as they were a year previous.

When it comes to revenue, Windows cleans up as well, with nearly $5.4 billion in revenue for the quarter, compared to a little over $1.9 billion in revenue for Linux.

The upshot? Windows doesn’t just dominate the desktop, but the server market as well, and shows no signs of slowing up.

Source : IDC Press release, www.idc.com.

Microsoft’s chief financial officer confirmed today that the company will offer a free upgrade to the upcoming Office 2010 suite starting this month. In a presentation at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference, Microsoft CFO Peter Klein said that the Office 2010 Technology Guarantee program would kick off before the end of March.

Last month, details of the free Office 2010 upgrade program leaked to the Web when a Microsoft technology specialist posted information to the firm’s partner community site. The site said that Microsoft would launch the Office 2010 upgrade deal on March 5 and run the program through Sept. 30.

According to the leaked information, customers who purchase an eligible copy of Office 2007 during that period will be allowed to download a corresponding edition of Office 2010 for free when the new suite launches in June. Users who want a DVD installation disc will have to pay a small shipping-and-handling fee.

Buyers of Office Home and Student 2007 will receive a free copy of Office Home and Student 2010, while buyers of Office Standard 2007 will be eligible for a free copy of Office Home and Business 2010, a new addition to the Office lineup. Purchases of either Office Small Business 2007 or Office Professional 2007 will be eligible for a free copy of Office Professional 2010.

Free upgrade programs are nothing new for Microsoft. Last summer, Microsoft used the Windows 7 Upgrade Option to maintain sales of Vista, giving customers who bought a copy of the soon-to-be-replaced Vista between June 26 and Oct. 22 free copies of Windows 7 when it launched. The company also offered similar deals prior to releasing Office 2007 and Office 2008 for Mac. Office 2010 is set to ship in June, and will be the first of its suite line to forego less-expensive upgrade editions.

Microsoft will install a plug-in for its Outlook 2010 e-mail application for Xing, a large professional networking site dominant in Germany. The plug-in will allow Outlook users to see messages, status updates and other information via Outlook without the need to use a Web browser. It effectively makes Outlook a front end for interacting with Xing, as a person’s colleagues can be directly contacted through the application. Microsoft said that helps users save time.

The Xing plug-in is part of Microsoft’s Outlook Social Connector, which is a set of features that allow for close integration with social-networking sites. Microsoft already has an agreement with LinkedIn.

Through the plug-in, users can see photographs of people they have contacts with. Outlook also synchronizes contacts from each social network with its own address book and users’ mobile phones.

Xing says it has about 8 million users in 200 countries. Users can create a free account, and Xing also runs paid services such as job advertisements, recruiting and other kinds of advertising.

The Xing plug-in will be available when Microsoft releases Outlook 2010, expected in June.