Microsoft is engaged in a silent war and it's actually losing. They are fighting an enemy that is so insidious and so cunning that it's actually hurting the company more than anything else. The enemy is called Chromebooks and they are using Linux.

Retailers from around the world have been offering cheaper Linux-powered laptops for more than a decade, but for some strange reason they never got off the ground. You would think that a laptop that comes with a free OS is a lot cheaper than one with Windows pre-installed, but that wasn't exactly true. Microsoft has been flexing its muscles for too long and they've forgotten what it's like to have true competition.

There are many reasons why Linux laptops were not selling like hot cakes five years ago. The main one is that Linux was regarded (and still is, to a lesser extent) as a hard-to-learn and difficult-to-master system. To put it bluntly, people were afraid of it.

And then there was the all-mighty Microsoft that was able to secure deals with the major laptop makers so that only the good stuff on the market was using Windows. Now there are many more companies and Microsoft can no longer buy their loyalty.

Amazon is a good metric for sale

Microsoft will boast with its sales and it's difficult to gage just how well they are doing. On the other hand, Amazon, the biggest retailer in the world (or at least outside of China), published some interesting statistics. There are numerous categories, but only the ones about laptops are interesting to read.

The "computers" entry on the list reads like this: Acer C720 Chromebook (11.6-inch, 2GB); ASUS Chromebook 13-inch with Gigabit WiFi (16GB, 2GB); HP 11-2010nr 11.6-inch Chromebook (Snow White). Three places and all of them occupied by Linux-powered devices. There is no sign that things are slowing down and Microsoft really needs a win, and soon if it wants to remain relevant.