The linux Foundation let out an early look at the result of their third annual desktop Linux survey. Key highlights of the report have been:

• The number of users who filled out the survey has doubled to around 20,000 this year, compared to last year’s survey.
• The survey users were mainly from Europe (51.5%), followed by North Americans (35.8%).
• More than 39.5% of organizations that have Linux desktops are also running Linux on more than half of their machines.
• The user baser for Linux is slowly moving towards client desktops as opposed to being inclined to development or engineering related work.
• The preferred distribution for users has been Ubuntu (54.1%), followed by Red Hat and SUSE.

Some other really interesting observations have been that Linux users want to use software like AutoCAD, Photoshop and Dreamweaver on their Linux installations. Another really interesting observation is that more and more users are moving from a dual boot to a native Linux only system.

Major concerns have not changed that much, however. The major issue as of this writing remains device support, especially for WiFi network adaptors. The issue with printers has become a little less, but users want to be able to use the kind of functionalities and additional features that they get with modern printers and multi-purpose machines.

More information on the survey as soon as the survey results are announced after November 30th.