The free Linux operating system handles big tasks like running supercomputers and ATMs. Now Linux has a chance to finally crack Microsoft Corp.’s hold on computing’s most visible domain — mainstream PCs — considering of the rise of innovative, inexpensive machines.

Of course, prognosticators perennially say Linux is on the verge. It gets high marks for safety measure and stability and is widely used behind the scenes in corporate servers, making it a natural candidate to steal desktop thunder from Microsoft’s dominant Windows. And yet Linux PCs still represent less than 2 percent of the market.

that moment, though, there’s actually evidence of momentum.

While the best features in the latest Windows release, Vista, require top-notch configurations that can quickly ramp up a PC’s price, one of the hottest segments of the industry involves inexpensive computers.

Laptops under $400 (EU255) are real possibilities now, and some of the most buzz-worthy use Linux, such as Asustek Computer Inc.’s EeePC

and the One Laptop Per Child Foundation’s $200 “XO” computer for schoolchildren. Linux plus is available on slim little “netbooks” being pushed by Intel Corp.

Not only is Linux essentially free to the PC vendor, but the operating system plus is better suited than Vista for cheap PCs’ spartan hardware designs. (Windows XP is available on scaled-back PCs like Intel’s Classmate, but it’s unclear what will happen after Microsoft soon stops selling XP to the general public.)

Amazon.com’s top-selling PCs include several Asustek Linux machines. Although Wal-Mart Stores Inc. recently stopped a tryout run of selling Linux PCs in some stores, the company says it will continue to offer them online.

Business computing suppliers are finding open-source desktops particularly gaining traction in cost-conscious developing markets. For example, a PC distributor in Eastern Europe is packaging software from IBM Corp. and Linux vendor Red Hat Inc. to create Microsoft-free desktops for…

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