ATTENDEES OF THE INTEL Developer Forum will be able to get substantial discounts for any of three certifications in Linux, but anyone looking to obtain similar qualifications for the Windows platform will have to go elsewhere.

In what may be seen as a snub of Microsoft, the giant chipmaker is sending a clear message to the Open Source community.

Much of the focus of the certification is on the rash of low-priced netbooks and Atom-powered devices which will struggle to run Microsoft's morbidly obese operating system, hence Intel's enthusiasm to encourage the development of leaner, keener Open Source offerings.

The fact that many large institutions and even Governments are turning their collective backs on the convicted monopolists at Microsoft has also coloured Intel's steady migration towards Open Sourcery. µ