Paul Maritz (former head of development at Micro$oft)

Quoting:Yet even Paul Maritz, former head of development at Microsoft who left in 2000, now views Linux as a key platform. His new company, PI Corp., is designing a desktop software environment that runs on both Linux and Windows.

Quoting: Why did PI decide to offer solutions on Linux?

Linux on the desktop is where Linux on the server was 5 years ago. It's use is more wide-spread than most people realize. More importantly it is reaching critical mass where there are enough users for a positive feedback cycle to take hold. The Linux desktop market is showing healthy growth in many global markets, including traditional corporate IT. We expect this growth to continue based on the lowering cost of PC hardware and continued maturing of the offerings. We believe that PI software can play a significant role in rounding out the Linux Desktop offering.